The Night Comes for Us Movie Review

Intense action, gore that's not for the squeemish (but occasionally also comical, yet not tone-killing), impressive / ridiculous choreography, lush and stylistic cinematography, atmospheric music, and excellent pacing make for a solid viewing experience.

The Night Comes for Us is incredibly focused and tight on its plot, which is done to elevate all of the incredible action and style that exude every scene of this movie. As well, there's a buildup towards the final fight that makes that payoff (the fight) so beautiful; also helps to be familiar with The Raid: Redemption.

While it won't be nearly as ground-breaking, this has enough elements for me to consider Night the Action-Thriller's (with a hint of Western) equivalent of The Matrix - the visuals, the characters and costume choices, the masterful direction and cinematography; plus a few love letters to other great movies.

Conclusion: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Currently streaming on Netflix

Bright Movie Review

Bright is a great example of a film with an interesting world (magic in the modern day, prophecies), but the execution left much to be desired.

For my two cents, the film needed less David Ayer and Max Landis and more... quality. Flat direction and questionable writing (Landis was not a good choice for an LA-based cop drama about racism) made for an underwhelming experience. A number of scenes were trying to heighten the drama, but just fell completely flat due to bad direction (and cinematography) by Ayer. Had this been Ghostbusters' great blend of horror and comedy meets John Carpenter's auteur style meets fantasy, I'd have been all over it.

Acting was OK, with Joel Edgerton being the highlight, but the rest of the cast was racial stereotypes to an awkward degree. Noomi Rapace was wasted. It'd also be great to know WHY Edgerton's character wanted to be a cop, rather than wanting to be a cop since a kid.

This movie had a budget of $90 million - where did it go? The movie's look alternated between good fantasy (20%), shakey-cam street cop drama (15%) and a TV show (65%). There were some cool shots, but they also looked low-budget, to an extent.

I was hoping it'd be run-of-the-mill with some interesting elements, and it was, but it was also largely a waste of time.

Takeaway: Didn't care for it, but, as always, your mileage may vary.

Glow Season 1 Review

Glow!

In a way, I just want to leave the review as that one, simple exclamatory word - but where's the fun in that? Consider that the short review.

To put it simply with more words, I love this show. As someone who loves the highs of pro wrestling, Glow did the medium justice, not only with an excellent first season, but numerous cameos and inside jokes. Granted, while it did take a few episodes to find its footing, once it did, Glow had a really nice flow. This first season is the perfect refreshing summer show for 2017.

There are so many great themes Glow touches on that were simultaneously relevant when the promotion debuted in the 80s and with the debut of the show on Netflix in 2017 - sexism, racism, politics (Russia vs the US, to name one), feminism / lack of opportunities for women... to name a few. While the show does a deft job of featuring these themes, it has such a light tone that it allows the real focus to shine:

The characters.

Glow is such a delightful ensemble that I was sad when the first season ended. I want more! The season, like it's wrestling subject matter, built so beautifully to its seasons finale main event that I can't wait to see what happens next. Again, that's all because there are so many great, great characters. As nice as the two leads, Ruth and Debbie, are, who's backgrounds allow for an easy entry into the world of the show (an actress looking for a meaty part and a former-actress-turned-housewife looking for a release), I would gladly have seen more focus on literally any of the supporting characters:

Cherry Bang - Also an actress, but black, stereotyped and much more physically capable
Carmen Wade - Has industry legacy, trying to break away from family
Justine Biagi - Great story, won't say more
Sheila - Trying to find acceptance, aka get over

And then the myriad of other characters who didn't have much exploration, such as Arthie Premkumar or Tammé Dawson, played gloriously by actual (former?) wrestler Kia Stevens, let alone Rhonda, Reggie, Melrose, Jenny... the list goes on.

Hell, I would have also been fine with following either Sam or Bash, played brilliantly by Marc Meron and Chris Lowell respectively, though that would take away from the premise of the show. If I could give Emmy's to Marc, Chris and Kia today, I would - to steal a line from wrestling's great JR, they maximized their minutes every time.

Regardless, what I'm trying to get at is there are so, so, so many great, great characters in this show and I simply can't get enough of following their adventures.

Big props to the writing on the show, which shows great admiration for pro wrestling, even taking a number of the storylines and tropes found within the industry and using them in a meta way for the series. If there were a way to have this quality of writing on a weekly basis, I'd tune in every week. I wish more TV shows were written like this, with nice arcs that build toward "main events."

I could keep talking and rambling about the show, but seriously - at this point, just go watch the show! It's 10 well-paced episodes. The dramatic moments worked hand-in-hand to make the comedy, and show, that much better.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. Netflix - please fast-track season 2!

Movies and TV of 2016

2016 was an interesting year for movies. A number of big blockbusters came out, but it was the indie movies that were the real winners, though it appears general consensus is hard to pinpoint one particularly "big" movie.

In any case, here are quick thoughts and my rankings for the movies I saw circa 2016.

Favorites
Kubo and the Two Strings - Hands down favorite movie. Amazing craftsmanship, production design and musical score, among others, help overshadow any story or character issues. It's message on the importance of memory and storytelling is beautiful (especially compared to self-indulgent Hollywood stories).

The Handmaiden - Fantastic movie. It's like Hitchcock meets Paul Verhoeven meets feminism. Beautiful visuals and music.

Moana - Incredibly vibrant movie with luscious visuals and good humor, if occasional a little too post-modern. Enjoyable songs, with great messages and themes throughout the film.

Sing Street - It may be relatively cliche, but the overwhelming charm, 80s setting and fantastic soundtrack make it a near-instant classic. Also has probably the best song of the year: Drive it Like You Stole It.


Very Good, with minor flaws
The Hunt for the Wilderpeople - Great performances by Sam Neill(!), Julian Dennison (the kid!) and Rima Te Wiata (Bella!), with plenty of charm and goofiness. The dynamic between Neill and Dennison are great, losing only a little steam towards the end.

Don't Breathe - Great filmmaking throughout. Some excellent shots, interesting enough characters and solid tension.

Moonlight - Profoundly sad love story. Took a little time to fully sink in, but haunting.

La La Land - Didn't care for most of the musical numbers or Hollywood nostalgia, but loved the growth of the characters during the film. Great maturity.

Train to Busan - Doesn't add much to the zombie genre, but is a great ride.

Kung Fu Panda 3 - The weakest of the three, but still great music, visuals, style and message

Deadpool - Very fun characters and relationships help elevate the mundane plot, but is also helped by it being partly a satire.

The Mermaid - STEPHEN CHOW!!! It's a great return-to-form for Chow, plus more modern elements.

The Lobster - Quirky, creative and very original. The third act may be a smidge on the weaker side, but that final scene!

Swiss Army Man - Incredibly inventive film with some inspiring sequences, but it's weirdness may be polarizing - occasionally simultaneously good and bad.

Arrival - The philosophy presented in the film, combined with the direction, cinematography and music elevate an otherwise cheesy plot (global crisis) with hit or miss acting/characters.

Green Room - Not the most interesting characters, but once the film and tension gets going it does not let up. Even up to the last shot. Incredibly excellent job of tension.

Finding Dory - Incredibly well made, very sentimental, but also strangely almost completely superfluous

The Jungle Book - Gorgeous visuals help elevate an otherwise shallow nostlagia trip with some nice genuine emotional beats.

Zootopia - The relationship between the two leads plus social commentary help the film stand out, even if some of the jokes fall flat and the message is a bit garbled by the end. Zootopia is the more adult version of KFP3.

The Wailing - Interesting Korean horror regarding exorcisms and various religions. It starts as a comedy then slowly gets darker and darker.

Hell or High Water - Great relationships and dialogue save an otherwise paint-by-numbers plot. The movies screams TEXAS, but not in a bad way (similar to Fargo in MN). Nice commentary on land/history.

13th - Insightful documentary on the connections between slavery and the US prison system. The narrative could maybe have been structured better, but lots of information.

Enjoyed, but flawed
Batman vs Superman: Extended Cut - Acknowledging its made some disagreeable creative choices with regards to characters, the plot makes sense and may have received some undeserved hatred. Certainly better than Man of Steel or Suicide Squad.

Nocturnal Animals - Great cinematography, music, performances and ending, but it was missing something to really gel for me.

Star Trek Beyond - As the third entry, the film solidifies the series' direction of action-adventure. Entertaining, but fluffy, with zero new ideas (and a number of half-assed ones, like the new female character).

Captain America: Civil War - One of the more enjoyable Marvel movies, but very, very messy. Bit too self-indulgent at times.

Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates - Crass and sophomoric, but knows what it is and has a number of funny (and cring-worthy) moments.

Under the Shadow - An interesting story, with nice visuals, but not as compelling as the comparable The Babadook.

Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping - Pretty much what you'd expect from an Andy Samberg/Lonely Island satire on pop music, but well done, with good creativity and music.

Sausage Party - An almost South Park-level of satire with great commentary on religion/faith, but significantly marred by an overly crude and sophomoric script.

The Siege of Jadotville - Pretty entertaining war-action movie telling a lesser-known perspective from a real-life event, though lacking a bit on story and character development.

Lights Out - Completely serviceable horror with nice visual design.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children - It's fine. Not Burton's best or worst. Could have used more runtime and fleshing out of ideas/characters. Lead actor (Asa) could have been better and Sam Jackson could have been better utilized. 

The Nice Guys - Somewhat closer to the "meh" side. Russell Crowe is a bunch of fun, along with the daughter (though she has a few off moments), whereas Ryan Gosling is uneven. The film borders on a boring, been-there-done-that Shane Black story, though has nice moments and ideas. A lot of great trailer moments don't actually fit in the movie. Needed better editing for story and film.

Magnificent Seven - Probably more interesting if this is one's first exposure to this story, otherwise it adds nothing new to the narrative/genre. Good music and some elaborate, if not overly long, action sequences are the highlights, with some nice character moments when you can hear the dialogue.

Doctor Strange - Inventive visual sequences weren't enough to elevate a cliched script and origin story. Benedict Cumberbatch didn't work for me as Strange, though he was great in the end credits sequence. Lots of forced humor that didn't work.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them - A number of interesting ideas and elements weren't enough to save this from an odd, if not inconsistent, choice of tone (not a fan of Yates). I did love Colin Farrell as the villain (more roles like this please).

Didn't Enjoy
The Witch - Started very promising, almost like Kubrick, but I didn't care about any of the characters. Interesting ending, but fairly standard witch movie.

Keeping Up with the Joneses - Interesting characters and relationships aren't enough to save an incredibly cliched and predictable plot. There are some good ideas, for which I would be either open to a sequel or perhaps a TV series.

Gantz: O - Mostly impressive animation, though the humans are on the weaker side. The dialogue is very weak to average, with a number of dumb/forced creative choices. Also, it's pretty sexist.

War Dogs - Probably wanted to be Wolf of Wall Street, but failed. Too slowly paced with unlikable characters.

Midnight Special - This felt like an incomplete, pretentious movie.

High-Rise - Started interesting, then falls apart. Never quite achieves the highs it wants to.

50 Shades of Black - Funny, but forgettable and generic.

Ghostbusters - Starts out OK, but becomes less funny after the first-third. Unearned action sequence at the end, combined with a messy plot/bad writing hurt the movie. An unfortunate misfire for the talented lead actresses.

Now You See Me 2 - Better off rewatching the first, which was dumb-but-fun.

Batman: The Killing Joke - The original content is the most interesting part, then taking a big dive when it goes into an accurate adaptation of the comic. We never really follow any one character, which hurts.

Joshy - Forgettable indie melodrama.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story - The weak characters prevented me from being invested in the story, which could probably shave a good 40 minutes and not miss anything.

Suicide Squad - Hard to care about any characters, let alone the plot. The tone is uneven and the editing is sloppy. Becomes more consistent towards the end, but it lost me by then.

Spectral - Found the film to be very flat and bland. The name of the villains made me roll my eyes.

X-Men: Apocalypse - Can't spell "Apocalypse" without "POS"


2016 movies I've yet to see, but want to:
Elle
Don't Think Twice
Hidden Figures
The Edge of Seventeen
20th Century Women
Tickled
Justice League Dark
Lion
Jack Reacher 2
Secret Life of Pets


As for TV shows, I didn't watch much, but here are the highlights:

The Expanse: Season 1 - It may have technically started in 2015, but this was a great first season. First few episodes move the plot forward quickly, then do a better mix of plot and character afterwards.

Luke Cage: Season 1 - Great style, characters and music. Really enjoyed this, even if I wish they had extended the first story arc a bit longer, if only to get more of one character.

Black Mirror: Season 3 - Easily the best season of the series yet. San Junipero is a great episode of television, though I did have issues with the two characters falling in love so quickly. The season opener was a bit weak, but each subsequent episode gets better and better.

Lady Dyanmite: Season 1 - Delightful. The season's a bit uneven, but the highs are incredibly high. The lows are fairly enjoyable, as well.

South Park: Season 20 - First two episodes were brilliantly hilarious, then the show got a bit too real for awhile, while also scrambling to match the then-current political events, but brilliantly picked things back up again towards the end

Westworld: Season 1 - I was compelled while watching, but ultimately ended the season underwhelmed. Some really great episodes, but the show mostly worked via storytelling gimmicks that fall apart upon reasonable analysis.

Game of Thrones: Season 6 - The last episode was the real money episode, otherwise it was a slow season (though certainly better than S5) with some nice moments scattered throughout.

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Season 2 - While the first season had rough moments, it was pretty fun, on the whole. However, with season 2, I gave up after four episodes.

2016 shows yet to watch:
Atlanta
Insecure

Lady Dynamite season 1 review

Netflix's Lady Dynamite is a delight. Pilot's a bit rough, second ep is better, third is when it hits Maria Bamford-Mitchell Hurwitz/Arrested Development gold. It may occasionally get too meta and Hollywood-focused, with the last few episodes losing a little steam and the timeline being very, very strange, but the word play, visual gags and incorporation of mental disorders are pretty great. I hope it's the beginning of something great.

There's some great acting, too, particularly Mary Kay Place and Ana Gasteyer, with a bunch of great cameos. Bamford herself is particularly entertaining, as is Fred Melamed.

Also, the ending musical cue of every episode has the potential to be up there with Curb Your Enthusiasm's end cue.

Very much RECOMMENDED, though it may not be everyone's cup of tea.

Under the Shadow movie review

Quick review:
A middle-eastern supernatural horror movie set in the 1980s and in the same vein as The Babadook? Having greatly enjoyed The Babadook, color me intrigued.

When a friend first referred me to Under the Shadow, I was instantly captivated by the premise, even going so far as watching it the same day (thanks, Netflix). There were many intriguing elements in the film, despite coming up a bit short by the end. However, on the whole, I enjoyed the film, despite leaving the experience with more questions than answers, and would RECOMMEND it to someone who's interesting in the subject matter. At the very least, there's some great insight into the Iranian culture at the time.

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Warning: More in-depth SPOILER-filled thoughts below

First things first, I greatly enjoyed The Babadook. It was different enough as a horror film to merit intrigue (e.g. the story direction changing halfway through), encapsulating a terror-ific overall experience, despite an arguably good or bad ending. Under the Shadow has a fairly similar premise of a mother trying to take care of her problematic child, but there are some key differences:

1. The father is still in play, even though he's transferred to another city
2. The story is much more linear, per se (follows one character)
3. The story tries to play with reality, to mixed results

To continue with the listing format, here are two things Under the Shadow does well:

1. Shideh (Nargas Rashidi) - She's a compelling character, with an intriguing backstory: she wants to assert her independence, but is stuck in a culture that limits her freedoms, not to mention leaving open the question of to what extent she's pursuing her own goals or those of her mother.
2. The cinematography - Shadow is a gorgeous movie. It's crisp and vibrant, yet still colored in a way that works for both the Iranian, 1980s and horror settings.
3. The depiction of war-torn Tehran - As someone who's has limited exposure to that experience and perspective, it was great to see it told on the screen, even in a fantastical way. Despite living among the horrors of war, it was still a fairly human story, at least until the supernatural elements kicked in.

Here's one thing I'm neutral on:

1. The pacing - Shadow is on the slower side, but building up nicely towards the end. I would have enjoyed a bit more supernatural teasing earlier, but the film was focusing more on character, relationships and other elements

Here are a few things I thought could have been better:

1. The playing with reality - The film could have delved much more with the idea of whether what Shideh was experiencing was real or not. As the film progresses, it clearly delves more into the supernatural, which is fine, but the earlier portions feel like a red herring and/or missed opportunity for the viewer (or to me, at least), even if it's meant for the character to disbelieve; yet her belief never really played a factor in the film.
2. Dangling character direction - As great as the setup for Shideh is, it's never really paid off. She's still stuck in the same directionless situation at the end as during the beginning, she doesn't become a better parent (per se) or pick a new career. As such...
3. It's anti-climactic - Even though there's a fairly elaborate ending sequence, it feels rushed, with the film rather abruptly ending, leaving me wanting more in a bad way.
4. The focus on Shideh and Dorsa - Something about the amount of time spent on these two, particularly Shideh trying to find the tell, felt like it took away time better spent elsewhere, whether getting to the horror faster or focusing on other ideas.

And finally, here are a couple more positive final thoughts:

1. I love the idea raised in the film of using supernaturally-tainted weapons for war, such as the implication of the missile in the apartment. It's such a fantastic concept, though would have been a different story than the one told
2. Will there be a sequel? - The film leaves a pretty open end to their fate, with both Shideh's mother's medical book and Dorsa's doll's head remaining in the apartment. Will the jinn follow them to her step-parents house? If the story continues, the Shadow has the potential to become an AMAZING start to an ongoing horror series, ideally a trilogy. Even if I was a bit underwhelmed, I would still like to see another chapter in this story.

Stranger Things review - thank you, more please!

SEMI-SPOILERISH WARNING (but not specifics)

A big YES to Stranger Things! A very fun and enjoyable 80s throwback filled with Spielberg, John Carpenter and Stephen King references, among others (it has a more kid-friendly True Detective season 1 vibe, as well as a bit of a darker The Lion, The With and The Wardrobe vibe). It might have some familiar tropes and and a slightly anti-climactic ending, at least with regards to the bad guys, but the 8-episode season leaves me wanting more, which is ultimately a good thing. It's a great start to the world and characters.

Two particular highlights are the John Carpenter-meets-Daft Punk synth soundtrack and the opening title sequence. On the whole, though, it has great sound design and visual aesthetic.

RELEASE THE SCORE! I WANT TO LISTEN TO IT MORE! (please)

I can't wait to see what the second season has to offer!

Hopes for the second season:

1. A slightly more cohesive story or a jump to an anthology-style series
2. Creative consulting (or episode direction) from either Cary Fukunaga (True Detective) or David Robert Mitchell (It Follows)
3. While they're 90s shows, any aping from either Twin Peaks or Eerie, Indiana
4. Character flashbacks that may be based more on forshadowing rather than in-the-moment emotional bits, or dumping them (they were nice, but also fluffy)
5-10. Other fun references to the 80s (Wes Craven?), maybe some gaming stuff
11. Generally, more of this

Highly recommended, flaws and all!

Jessica Jones - a light review

Jessica Jones is a great feminist twist on standard male-lead action-crime shows, with some great characters (Trish and Jeri, to name two) and very interesting takes on both PTSD and the patriarchy (SPOILER: most straight white male characters are villains).

However, it loses steam a little after half-way through. The series could have dropped a storyline or two, reducing the episode count to 8-10 episodes and been better/tighter for it.

Thoughts on the two protagonist/antagonist:

Jessica Jones - Cool and badass, while also dealing with PTSD. She's an interesting character, but her arc over the show is a bit flat. Most of the time, she's in her dour, tired mood and for all she drinks, alcohol never seems to affect her. She emotes most when she's in a panic, which is great to see, but one would think the alcohol could be better used to play into her PTSD. Perhaps her "flatness" is commentary on someone with PTSD (or I'm missing something), which is definitely interesting and can hopefully be elaborated on in future seasons/series.

Kilgrave - Simultaneously very interesting and lame. His powers are incredibly strong, but his focus is so small - all he wants is Jessica. He lacks the flare of more grandiose villains (e.g. Wilson Fisk, Joker, Goldfinger, et al), but is also a very interesting character and case study. That his focus is only Jessica separates him, but makes him slightly underwhelming; however, he goes to some "cool" lengths to achieve his goals.

At the end of the day, Jessica Jones gets a fairly solid RECOMMENDATION, as the main plot between Jessica and Kilgrave is good. Just be wary of the many melodramatic sub-plots that detract from what could have been a tighter personal story.

Anime review: Knights of Sidonia (seasons 1 and 2 available on Netflix)

Knights of Sidonia is a show I want to like more, but don't. With elements borrowing from Battlestar Galactica, Neon Genesis Evangelion and Robotech, to name a few, it's on the solidly serviceable side, but falls just short of truly compelling.

Having watched it last year, I don't particularly remember the first season - I recall it seeming a bit slow and uneven, with an initially-odd-but-grows-on-you animation style. However, there was something interesting about it and it progressed nicely, building out the world, characters and general plot/story.

The second season is a more "complete" season. It didn't progress the story a whole lot, but was a very enjoyable character-building season; it felt very much like a Netflix-style show (although they apparently only commissioned the localization), where they took their time to tell the stories they want to tell and everything flowing together well; granted, that's typical for good anime and its serialized storytelling.

One of my big gripes with the second season (besides the lack of major storyline progression) is that while watching the fleshing out of the characters and growing relationships, I noticed a strange dichotomy on how the show is strangely both misogynist and feminist. The show has a LOT of fleshed out female characters, but a strong portion of them fall into the trope of falling for the male lead. In this case, the male lead is an amazing mech fighter, but awkward human. Granted, there's lots of awkwardness abound, which does help play with the ideas of the characters being slightly a-human due to their situation, but it lessens the show to a degree (must EVERY lead female develop feelings for the sensitive lead male?). It feels quintessentially Japanese, in both good ways and less so.

That said, it does a very interesting job of showing people falling for someone who clearly is not paying attention/still not over their ex. I found that take on the story to be more interesting than the repeated awkward romance attempts and lesser plotlines.

Recommended as a casual viewing for people looking for an interesting space-faring mech action romance sci-fi show that could only come from Japan and is easy to consume. Just brace yourself if you're expecting greatness (or closure, as at least a third season is necessary, which I welcome).