solemnphilosopher

While Damsel wasn't flawless, I found it enjoyable.

The basic plot is interesting. The film managed to toy with male and female fairytale tropes without coming off too preachy. The dragon is generally well done in most scenes.

However, I wish they fleshed out the storyline a bit more, especially at the end. I would have also liked it to push the kingdom's cult-like weirdness further.

Some may find the Disney-like scenes uneven with the darker and grittier scenes. However, I suspect that it done on purpose to contrast the situation.

Whatever the case, I think viewers that like fantasy or fairytale stories will like the film.

I was a big fan of the first season of Strange New Worlds and was excited for this new one. Perhaps I was overhyped because this opener ended up being my least favorite episode so far. While I liked the basic idea, the execution felt contrived, melodramatic, and rushed overall.

I am also not sure how I feel about the new engineer played by Carol Kane (from Taxi). While I liked her in other shows, she comes off a bit too quirky, comedic, and out of place here. However, her newly introduced race is intriguing and I will give her a chance.

I certainly still like the show and will continue to watch the new season, but hopefully this episode was an anomaly and the subsequent ones are better.

I was thrown off by M3gan initially as the first half plays more like a quirky and colorful coming-of-age drama. The horror aspects depicted in the trailers only appear in the latter half of the film.

Some of the negative reviews on here are from viewers who expected stronger horror elements, which may be the fault of the trailers. The film is light horror at best and it is more in the dark comedy and social satire camp.

Personally, I've enjoyed rewatching M3gan with friends and family who know nothing about the film. Their reactions are priceless when it transitions to the horror elements. However, it is also not super bloody to alienate viewers that are not horror fans

Whatever the case, if you go into M3gan with tempered expectations, I think it is worth your time. There is also an unrated version for those that want a more bloody affair, but still don't expect a full-on horror film.

I just finished the first season of From and I am liking it a lot so far. The pacing is a bit slower and some acting is a little rough, but they are minor criticisms. I look forward to next season, but hope they don't drag the show on for too long like Lost.

The original Cube is one of my favorite films of all time. The mystery and mathematical design behind the cube is fascinating. Unfortunately, the sequels mostly fall flat by adding an unnecessary element and/or pulling back the curtain too much.

I somehow missed the release of this Japanese version until I saw a random online comment about it. I was disappointed to see the negative reviews, but never-the-less decided to give it a chance.

While it is essentially a remix of the original and not perfect, I enjoyed it. I think it is better than the previous sequels. The production quality is generally on par with the original film.

The characters could be more interesting and there are a few too many slow melodramatic stares. It also has less gore, but I am personally more interested in the survival and story aspects.

The film is fortunately not an exact copy of the original. The cube, characters, and interactions are somewhat different. There are similarities for sure, but it is the same situation and it is to be expected.

Rather than a remake, perhaps this Japanese version should be viewed as a story about another group in different cube in Asia (a Cube Cinematic Universe if you will). If Cube fans go into it with that mindset, I think they will enjoy it.

I enjoyed Coma very much and I am surprised by its 6.3 IMDB rating (as of this review). I thought it was a great Russian indie film with a unique story.

The pacing is slightly slower and more cerebral, but not to a great extent. There may be a degree of overacting as well, though it is harder to tell for me since I don't speak Russian.

It has visual effects that are reminiscient of Doctor Strange or Inception, but with its own unique elements. The effects are not always perfect, but they are still great for an foreign indie film.

If you like cerebral sci-fi, I highly recommend the film.

To be clear, I am not a Christian and have no theological quarrel in this review. However, I still have an interest in religious history. I listen to talks (and debates) about Jesus and the Bible from such scholars as Bart Erhman (Atheist) and N. T. Wright (Christian).

Marketing the Messiah starts off as a good popular-level introduction to modern scholarship about Jesus, Paul, and the New Testament. I agree that Paul was a heavy influence on what Christianity became, but there isn't much debate on that.

The documentary opens by stating that the modern Christmas story is a caricature of what is actually in the Gospels, which is absolutely true. However, I felt that the host did the exact same thing with other topics at times.

There is some decent comedy, though sometimes it also fell flat. I appreciated the use of "Jesus is a Friend" song, which was a minor viral video that was going around the Internet a few years ago.

Despite some minor complaints, I liked the documentary for the most part and would have given it a rating of 7. Unfortunately, the final 20 minutes takes a turn for the worst.

The documentary ends by pushing fringe theories of rejected Bible books (from the late 2nd Century) and the Christ Myth Theory (Jesus never existed). These positions are held by no serious Biblical scholar (Christian or Not).

They spend time supporting the views and give minimal criticism of them. It was a disappointing end to an otherwise decent documentary. I recommend looking up the debate on Youtube between Erhman and Price about the Christ Myth Theory.

With a lower user rating at the time of this review, I was expecting this episode to be okay at best. However, I actually liked it a fair bit. The aggressive shadow creatures were interesting.

Anyway, my only complaint is the constant bickering between Ezra, Zeb, and Chopper. It is getting a bit tiresome, not unlike my neighbour with their five endlessly fighting kids.

This is my first viewing of Rebels. While I prefer the animation of the Clone Wars, I am liking the show so far. It is reminiscent of Firefly. I just hope the younger characters (and my neighbours) mature sooner than later.

This was an excellent episode of The Clone Wars and Cad Bane is a great villain. I wish Rogue One borrowed some ideas from this episode for stealing the Death Star plans.

Underwater is decently executed with some good visual effects. The near-future underwater mining facility is interesting and it reminds me of the Bioshock, SOMA, and Subnautica video games.

The film's biggest weakness is the generic monster plot, which could have easily fit into the Cloverfield films. I almost wonder if it was originally in that series, but they disconnected from that following the lukewarm reception of Cloverfield Paradox.

Whatever the case, I wish it had just kept the cause of the disaster unknown. It is a decent near-future underwater survival film and I think alien-like predator detracts from that with cliche moments. I would have liked to see more worldbuilding instead.

Nevertheless, I thought it was good and I'd recommend it if you like sci-fi horror. It is only an hour and a half long, so it isn't a huge time investment.

How would Superman be if baby Kal-El crashed into Communist Russia instead of Capitalist America? Superman: Red Son explores the idea, which is based on a comic book mini-series.

It an intriguing premise and the film does indeed have some interesting moments. Unfortunately, it tries to squeeze too many ideas into an hour and a half format and it just feels too rushed. Many ideas are not fully developed or explored.

It could have been amazing as a limited series where they fleshed out the ideas and characters over several episodes. Although I haven't read the comic series, it sounds like that is more the case.

This is probably my favorite episode of the show so far. It has some great humour and action.

It does lose a point for being another standalone episode. However, we do get a bit more background on the Mandalorian and hopefully we will see some of the new characters in future episodes.

I've been looking forward to watching For All Mankind since its announcement. I am a big fan of alternate history and space/sci-fi related shows.

Unfortunately, after watching six episodes, I am left mostly disappointed. It focuses too much on the family and relationships. I equally don't care about the marriage relationships or same-sex relationships in the show.

The show lacks mystery, suspense, and/or interesting characters. I wish they would focus more on the space technology, training, and exploration. Episode six has a few good minutes of political thriller set in the alternate history, but it was too little.

The show sometimes seems like a moral critique of the space race era than actually feeling like it is from the era. However, that is a minor point for me. I am just bored while watching the show.

I've been looking forward to For All Mankind since its announcement. I've been a fan of alternate history since watching the Star Trek "Mirror Mirror" episode and subsequently with shows like Sliders and The Man in the High Castle.

The alternate history here, of course, is that the Russians beat the Americans with the moon landing. I watched a few space race documentaries before the show aired in order to get a greater understanding of the real timeline.

In this first episode, following the Russian moon landing, the U.S. still goes ahead with the Apollo 11 moon landing mission. However, will NASA or the astronauts make a mistake in their rush to compete with the Russians?

The show features real historical people such as Apollo 11's Armstrong, Aldin, and Collins. It also includes Nasa Chief Deke Slayton and former Nazi rocket engineer Wernher von Braun.

However, the main characters are fictional astronauts Edward Baldwin and Gordo Stevens (and their wives Karen Baldwin and Tracy Stevens). There is also a female engineer named Margo Madison attempting to compete in the male dominated NASA.

I thought the first episode was good, but not amazing. I found the pacing to be a bit slow and I would have also liked to know what changed in history that allowed the Russians to achieve the first moon landing.

In real life, the Russians lost their lead engineer Sergei Korolev in 1966 when he died unexpectedly during an operation. Perhaps he survived in this alternate timeline? Hopefully they explore that in a later episode.

Whatever the case, I am still curious to see where this alternate history leads.

I am a fan of the original YouTube shorts . While I didn't mind the premise and it had some good jokes, I thought it didn't quite live up to the original show.

It sometimes goes too far into absurd humour and I just prefer the deadpan interviews. I wish they would have increased the mockumentary stuff and showed the full interviews (some of which are already online). The bloopers at the end is the best part.

I found this episode interesting and I was curious to see other opinions. I am surprised by the negative reviews, but everyone has a right to their opinion. Hopefully you will respect mine as well.

Personally, I thought the episode was an interesting "behind the scenes" look at how The Director protects a critical mission by sending multiple travelers in a row. It is reminiscent of Groundhog Day.

It might have had a repeat or two too many with the parachute girl. The anniversary issue might have dragged a bit as well, though I was amused by the early banter about it.

I feel like it increased the shows universe for me. It showed how other travelers might be unknowingly working in the background to protect a mission. This episode gave us a glimpse of that and I thought it was excellent.

I was looking for forward to this Twilight Zone reboot. I am a big fan of the original series and Jordan Peele's recent films. It seemed like the perfect match.

Unfortunately, I found myself mostly bored during episode 1 and 2. The IMDB episode ratings for episode 3 and 4 don't inspire much confidence and I am not sure that I want to continue watching the show.

I liked some of the ideas in the first two episodes, but they ultimately drag on for too long. As other reviewers have mentioned, the show might have been better as shorter 25 minute episodes (like the originals).

Hopefully the Twilight Zone reboot in the 2030s will be better.

I am a child of the 1980s and Karate Kid was one of my favorite films. When I first heard about this TV sequel some 35+ years later, I was extremely cynical. Nevertheless, I decided to give the show a chance. To my surprise, I was blown away.

First Season Review

The first season is perfect. They honor and develop the original characters while introducing new ones in a balanced way. I am extremely critical and Cobra Kai is one of the few shows or films that have received a perfect 10 from me.

Second Season Review

The second season was a slight step down for me. Some of the situations felt forced and the karate over-the-top. Nevertheless, I still give it a solid 8 out of 10.

The Strain has been on my watchlist for some time and I was looking forward to finally watching the show. Perhaps my expectations were too high, because I was disappointed overall.

The show opens with a large passenger plane landing at a major airport, but there is no communication from the cockpit. Two CDC officers are tasked with entering the plane and finding out with happened.

Unfortunately for the audience, there isn't much mystery to unravel. We already know what primarily happened due to the opening scene. Subsequent side scenes also showed what the officers were about to discover or encounter. Essentially, the episode revealed too much and contained it own spoilers.

For a serious vampire show, I also thought the cinematography was a bit too bright and colorful at times. It would have liked a darker and more brooding atmosphere. It has some of those moments, but it is uneven.

Whatever the case, the pilot of a TV show often has some rough edges. I like the ideas, but perhaps not the initial execution. I am going to watch a few more episodes and give The Strain a chance to hopefully find its groove.

Like others reviewers mention, they could have reduced the time spent on Alex's relationship with his girlfriend. I didn't mind her, but I was just not into that aspect of the story.

Alex's notes were fascinating. Using that as a base, I wish they would have expanded on the terminology and techniques behind rock climbing. I am a layman and I was interested in the little bit that they showed in the film.

I also thought the final climb was a bit too short. I understand that they didn't want to smother Alex with cameras while doing a precarious climb. Nevertheless, I think they could have shown some of the easier parts of the climb to give a sense of the time and endurance required.

In any case, I found Free Solo to be interesting and recommend the documentary.

I really enjoyed the first episode of Castle Rock, but then the show stretched on without moving the plot forward at a reasonable pace. It is too bad because I like the look, characters, and general idea behind the show.

Alpha is a prehistoric coming of age survival story.

The film has some beautiful cinematography and decent visual effects. I liked the semi-realistic prehistoric backdrop and its characters. The human and wolf interactions were well done, which is good since that is the main plot of the film.

However, I found the film's pacing to be uneven. Despite being only about 90 minutes long, the film dragged at parts. I also wish some of the survival aspects were a bit more realistic, I had to suspend disbelief a bit too much.

Overall, I thought Alpha was okay. My family enjoyed it more than I, but I tend to be more critical. While it has some flaws, it is better and more realistic than most films set in this era (e.g. 10,000 BC).

Time Trap has a bit of a glossy Hallmark film or Disney teen drama feel to it at times. It also has a few dark moments and the tone feels a bit uneven at times because of it.

I wish they would have stuck with the darker and grittier style throughout. If that were the case, I would have given the film a higher rating. Nevertheless, I found Time Trap to be a pretty good lower budget sci-fi film.

I really enjoyed the first Ant-Man, but Ant-Man and the Wasp underwhelmed me somewhat. Granted, it is hard to compete with the likes of Infinity War, Black Panther, and Thor: Ragnarok.

I liked the main plot, but the various subplots didn't come together in an organic or compelling way. I wish they focused more on breaking into and exploring the quantum realm. The villain was generic and really felt like a unnecessary subplot. The comedy felt forced or was just a repeat of the previous movie.

I certainly wasn't bored and it uses the shrinking and growing tech in some interesting ways, but overall I think it is a step down from the first film and the more recent Marvel films.

It seems like when a film does very well, there is a small segment of the reviewers that will emerge to bash the film. They will give it an unfair score to balance out all the positive reviews they feel is unwarranted.

It seems like A Quiet Place has been hit with such reviews. If you don't like a film, that is fine. However, be fair and honest in your reviews. Don't give a low score simply because you didn't like it as much as a lot of other people.

I enjoyed A Quiet Place. It is a monster movie in the vain of Alien and Cloverfield. I liked the characters and farm backdrop. The creatures were interesting. The use of sound and communicating in quiet ways were unique and interesting.

I do have a few minor criticisms. In some ways they over explained the creatures with the newspaper shots, but in other ways I would have liked to know more. I don't particularly care where they come from, but I would liked to further know the "rules" of how they hunt.

I also don't understand why the don't try and live by the river or waterfall. However, it is forgivable since the farm gives them food and shelter. I think this could have been easily resolved by simply removing the waterfall screaming scene. You can be louder by the river, but only within reason.

Despite these criticism, I think the film is a worthy watch for anyone that likes these types of films.