liam_mackay

A masterpiece of conventional horror, essentially a haunted house movie but instead of demons or ghosts, it's super powered Alien invaders. On the surface it may seem straight forward, and that's because it is, but Duffield's wordless script and exquisitely creative direction turns what could be a slog of a film into true nightmare fuel.

Dever is always incredible, but here she delivers a career best and a high water mark for horror performances. Without a single word of dialogue, she exhibits both the emotion and story of her character purely through body language and facial expressions. This performance is one that should genuinely be studied in acting schools as well as directing performance classes.

The special effects in this picture are also genuinely fantastic for a low budget horror film, and I genuinely resent Disney for denying us the opportunity to see this incredible work on the big screen.

What's really unsettling about this movie, and the reason that it's been something on my mind for days, is the execution of the ET's. With UFO's (now rebranded as UAP's) finally being taken seriously on a international scale, this film takes the classic abduction story we've all heard, and makes you sit in what that reality might actually be like. That absolute, almost unimaginable fear that those experiences would elicit are fully on display in this film, and the abstract nature of these creatures is felt.

Knowing the Duffield wrote the script for Underwater (2020) is unsurprising for me, as again he takes an ancient human fear/folk lore and crafts an absolutely terrifying and realist depiction of that to the screen. This is a creative who we must pay attention too.

Easily my favourite Lowery picture. As a massive fan of Peter Pan since I was a toddler, this was a great adaptation of the classic fairytale. Probably my favourite movie of the year so far. Up there with the 2003 adaptation.

The cast is great, the locations are beautiful, and the visual effects are top notch. I really don't understand how people find this boring, it is nearly beat for beat the book with just slight additions that only add to the mythology.

I would recommend this to all people, especially people familiar with the book. They do a great job adapting a classic story. The visuals are really great.

The Ultimate Edition. Just wow. I remember first seeing the theatrical cut of BvS, and the only words that came to mind after was "what a mess". I didn't understand. It felt like the film was trying to both say a lot, but also say absolutely nothing. All subtext seemed contradicted by the narrative decisions being made. The plot was a disaster, and barely made sense.

Then, I believe 6-8 months later, Warner Brothers willingly released the Ultimate Edition, and everything finally made sense. You see, this was a movie where the true story tellers didn't have final cut. Where a studio had mandates to keep in every action sequence, regardless of it made narrative sense with the things they decided to cut. The editing itself in the theatrical cut isn't bad, but whoever made the decision to cut key story beats of the movie, made a massive mistake.

The Ultimate Edition, provides the context AND the subtext to the big punches, car chases and action sequences. It provides motive for Clark to not trust the Batman. It fleshes out why Bruce has turned to such extreme violence, and justifies indirect (and honestly sometimes even direct) murder. Things they were gigantic problems for me in the theatrical cut, finally make sense, and have purpose.

The shots, the action, the scale is all on a level no other super hero film had ever reached at that moment in time. We're talking about a film that came out the same year as Civil War, where the high point of the movie looked like they paid a bunch of A-Listers to punch each other in a Walmart parking lot, and they just rolled out a green screen behind them. In comparison, this film is lush, and rich to look at. Zach Snyder loves vignettes, and each frame he stages is essentially a painting unto itself.

Besides maybe Spider-Man 2, I think this may be my favourite superhero film of all time. Couldn't recommend it more.

I actually really liked Kamen Rider: The First, but it's sequel The Next absolutely blows it out of the water in every way. From the special effects and fight choreography, to technical aspects, like direction, and especially editing (whoever did the edit on The First should be ashamed).

I liked both Hongo and Ichimonji, though just like in the first movie, you do need to understand this is a reimagining of these characters. If you can't get over that fact, you probably won't like either of these movies.

The story is cool, not anything ground breaking, but I don't think storytelling is necessarily the draw of Kamen Rider (not that it isn't sometimes great).

Like I said before the action is great, and the costumes and stunt work is definitely a step up from the first movie. There's also some awesome horror elements that really fit the tone of Kamen Rider. Reminded me a little of 1992's Shin Kamen Rider, which is another unique rider movie I love.

For me, this checked all my boxes, and is easily the best Rider movie I have seen yet. It got me really excited for 2023's Shin Kamen Rider, though I think these 2 films set the bar for a reboot pretty high.

All 13 of Hongo's episodes are incredible. It's perfect for what it is. Kamen Rider 1 is my favourite super hero ever.

If you are curious about this series at all, just give the first 13 episodes a try. It's fun, hilarious, and has great characters. The fights and action are also really impressive for the time.

From the character design (absolute perfection), to the villains (I freaking love early shocker), this arc of the show is a cut above the rest.

This film is incredible, and for anyone who is even aware of Kanye West, this is a must see.

The first "act" in this trilogy paints a portrait of a man certain of his stardom, desperately searching for someone willing to open the door for him. Kanye wasn't an industry plant. In fact, this documentary shows that nearly everyone in the industry was perfectly content with him sitting on the sidelines. No one wanted to give him a record deal.

Even through rejection though, Kanye never stopped believing that he was destined for greatness. With the support of his mother, a few friends, and his own ego, we watch Ye carve a place for himself in music history.

For any artist trying to break through into any industry, this is documentary is truly inspiring.

The first 13 episodes with Hongo are genuinely incredible. Those episodes are dark, and though aged and campy, have great villains and character development.

Rider 2 though enjoyable, lacks the tone and charm of the original. His episodes are best when Hongo crosses over.

The first 13 episodes are the franchise high in my opinion, but the rest of the series still has a lot to offer. Check it out and just fall into the Kamen Rider rabbit hole.

It's terrible, and offensive to multiple demographics of people. I'd highly recommend skipping this entry in the franchise as it has little to nothing to offer. Bad writing, directing and acting leads to an unpleasant movie to experience.