Tag Archives: Drama

Nothing in Common Review

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It’s time for one of those films that will have you knocked out in no time. There just isn’t much good to say about this film while there are certainly a lot of negatives to give it. The romance is everything you don’t want in a film, the drama makes all of the characters look bad by the end and so the ending isn’t particularly satisfying either. Yeah this is definitely one that you’re going to want to skip and fast!

The movie starts off with introducing us to David who has been moving through relationships like butter. He can just never stick with just one person for long and keeps on moving. Well now his parents are having issues as well and ended up splitting up. His mom wants to go back into the dating scene again while his father’s been fired and is trying to work again. Both of their issues are causing issues for David whose job had been going great but now he’s also being distracted. Can he continue to churn out powerful ads while dealing with all of this or is it all over for him? Only time will tell.

First off the film isn’t really able to make you like David as a character because he’s not the committed type. He ends up falling for the daughter of an executive and they have some flings but then he’s still ready to go back to another girl later when Cheryl leaves. David is someone who just never stays in one place and that’s a trait that’s hard to really change even if he does learn more about family later on. If anything seeing what happened to his parents would probably make it even harder for him to ever sustain a normal relationship.

Then the movie goes so far in making his father Max look bad that there isn’t really any way to recover his character later on. He cheated on his wife pretty much right after they got married and it ended up traumatizing her for life. It’s a really big weight to try and get rid of. Then Max is also irresponsible, doesn’t own up to his mistakes, etc. A character like that never ends up being sympathetic and since the film wastes a lot of screen time trying to do so, it’s just no good.

Meanwhile Lorraine comes across as way too desperate when she’s trying to get back into dating. Lets be realistic here, she’s older now since she was married for many years and it’s also not something you should be jumping right into like that. It’s all just too fast. I was glad that she still ended up leaving to try and reclaim her life on her own but the whole dating plot could have been taken out.

In general I think the saddest part about all of this is that the movie would have been so much more fun if it just focused on David. Just be about him and working on the advertisement business and we skip all of the family drama. I would have enjoyed it a lot more for sure and I think it’s fair to say that around the board it would have been a much better film. I still don’t think it would have been great mind you but at least things were happening in David’s plot that were interesting.

For example, seeing how the commercials was made was fun. We got to see the script phase where you write down what’s going to happen, the initial filming, etc. I rather enjoyed that and think you could easily make a whole film around the concept. I’d watch it at least and while it wouldn’t salvage the lackluster romance, the film would have something more to stand on. Ultimately David’s not a good character and he isn’t portrayed as one but you don’t have to worry about that while you’re watching the film.

The best character is definitely his boss Charley. The guy always had David’s back and was ready to defend him from all who would attack. Even to the end he was able to get David his job back and you know there was probably a lot of backlash for that. The guy’s a true friend who looks out for his people even when corporate tries to get in his way. I don’t think there are a lot of people who would have done that.

In the end I also think the movie is really just lacking a true hook as well. Even aside from the unlikable characters you have to ask yourself what the point of the movie was. David learns a lesson in finding a true romance instead of just playing the field and manages to achieve a proper work life balance but you could have done all of that in a much shorter timeframe. I think the film was trying for a fairly happy tone by the end where the redemption arc really worked and it was all good but to me that didn’t quite succeed either. Eh not every film can be a winner but this one just didn’t really have anything to enjoy about it.

Overall, I really didn’t enjoy this film. The whole backstory of what happened with the parents was a bit too tragic. In any plot like that you at least need to leave enough room for things to go well or to part on amiable terms but this wasn’t it. It would have been a more satisfying film if David just ran off to be honest. The whole thing happened a long time ago of course but since he just found out it would have still been rather fresh. In the end it just feels like a mean spirited title so stay far away!

Overall 1/10

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time Review

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It’s time for a movie about the dangers of time travel. See time travel is something that can be super beneficial and help you out of a jam but it can also become something that you rely on too much and then you’re really out of luck. You want to hit the middle ground but with that much power it’s just not so easy. This is definitely a solid film all around and one that I would recommend checking out.

The movie starts by introducing us to Makoto who is living a fairly ordinary life. She is best friends with two guys, Chiaki and Kosuke. If you’ve studied up on your film cues then you’ll know that this is already a red flag. According to film rules guys and girls can never stay as just friends! 😦 One day Makoto falls down while in the supply room and crushes a time travel device. She can now go back in time by building up energy and running like the Flash before literally leaping through time. It’s a power that she will have to master quickly or she will end up going too far back. It’s a lot of fun but is she somehow causing trouble by messing with the timeline?

First off the animation is solid here. It’s not quite at the mainstream anime level like Naruto or Pokemon but still above your average western title. There aren’t a lot of bright colors and the like for it to be able to show off with the animation but it’s all clear and you can follow along which is the important part. The writing is on point and the characters are likable so you have a good foundation here. The soundtrack’s more on the subdued side though so don’t expect to get a lot of big lyrical songs this time around.

This film’s more of a romantic slice of life so don’t expect too much end of the world stakes or anything like that. There definitely is danger here and things happen but for the most part it’s really about Makoto learning to stay and face her problems instead of running away from them. Always a good moral if you ask me. I do have some issues with the romance here but we’ll get into that in a minute. I did appreciate how Makoto’s aunt took the whole time travel aspect in stride though and offered her two cents about how to use it responsibly. A much better reaction than being shocked and having Makoto explain it all again.

As the main character Makoto is pretty solid. She wants to keep the status quo and is pretty good about rearranging events to make this happen. She wants to help people out and just seems like a good kid in general. Perhaps not very brave with how much running she does but at the end of the day she really tries her best. It’s probably not the most satisfying ending for her but that’s the risk of time travel. You never really know what timeline would end up being the best one and ultimately I’d say she left her ideal one.

Then there is Chiaki who is one of her best friends and he keeps trying to confess his feelings to her which causes Makoto to have to use more of her time travel. He just isn’t ready to stay as just friends and she’s not ready to let him out of the friend zone so it’s a tough dynamic. In that sense her plan was always doomed to fail though because from how he confessed it was clear that he had been thinking about this for a while. So even if she found ways to avoid him for a little bit, it was going to happen eventually or he’d move on. She needed to be able to stay in the pocket and throw out the rejection in the flat. Just let him off easy and you’re good.

He gets some points for his tenacity but also loses some for the fact that he went on the rebound rather quickly. After she avoided him enough times he goes after her best friend and it makes you think he couldn’t have been that head over heels for her. It’s always a tough call of when it’s time to move on. I would argue that this is way too soon though because even though he couldn’t get an answer out of her, he was still ready to move on.

Likewise the same thing happens with Kosuke. It’s more ambiguous but I would say it’s heavily implied that he likes her as well and ultimately goes with someone else. You could also just say that he was looking out for her as a friend so to the film’s defense it is up to you to decide. He’s a nice guy and did his best to not let anyone down while pursuing his own dreams. He really took school seriously which differentiates him from the others by quite a lot.

So with the romance, ignoring the whole why couldn’t they all just be friends angle (Because sometimes people just are friends and none of them are in a secret crush but that’s never to be in these things) I would say Makoto seeing the various timelines and how the guy would end up with someone else just showed why perhaps the romance wouldn’t have been best. If you were truly soulmates then the guy wouldn’t be going with another girl so easily right? To the guy he doesn’t remember confessing so it’s not a rebound per say but it does show that she was easily replaced and that’s not the basis for a good romance. That’s why I’m not really sure that it would have worked out.

Also while you can “learn to love” someone, I also don’t think that’s a great starting point. She clearly didn’t see him as that kind of guy and I would say the first impression is huge. She mainly just got jealous when he was with someone else and that’s another red flag. Wanting a guy because otherwise he will be taken seems like a very petty reason to me. At least the film does take place over the full summer and they’ve all known each other for a while so I won’t say that the romance is super rushed or anything. It may not be the best one but it still made an attempt.

Of course the film is at its best when we’re just seeing Makoto having fun using time travel. Before she realizes how serious it all is, it’s nice to see someone just enjoying the ability. Particularly since she uses it for everyday things like having her favorite dinner multiple times or getting to sleep in. Being able to rewind time means being able to ignore the consequences of your actions for a while. You can go to a restaurant and order all the most expensive things. Then after leaving you can rewind time and you stay full since you still experienced the event like how she was so tired after doing Karaoke on a bunch of loops. The applications of time travel are endless and I’d love to see a long running comedy about it some day. Just a character having fun with the power and living a perfect life. You’d probably need some kind of threat or danger eventually to hook people but I’d have fun just watching that series as in. Also kudos to the film on the unique method of landing out of time travel with the forward roll into the wall. It’s a little element but one that really helps the film stand out since that is very memorable.

Overall, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is a pretty good movie. In some ways you’re just as interested in the movie that we didn’t see though. The apocalyptic future sounded real interesting and you sort of look forward to seeing how things went. It also adds an extra layer to the ending because it’s really hard to interpret exactly what’s going on. Personally given all the evidence I can’t see how things will ever work out for Makoto so that part’s tragic but as long as she has fun in the present then I suppose that’s all that matters. At the very least she definitely wouldn’t want to use time travel again even if she got the ability again.

Overall 7/10

One Million Years B.C Review

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It’s time for a film about cave people and that’s always a huge red flag for me. It’s very rare that a film like that ends up being very good. Unfortunately this would not be the one to buck the trend. The instant you start the film you already know how it’s going to go. Without meaningful dialogue and fun characters this movie was really dead in the water right from the jump. I’m afraid that it never ended up doing anything and that’s the real sad part about this.

The movie starts with a bunch of cave people fighting all over the place. We see how there is no law and order around here. Everyone just does what they want when they want. They are true savages through and through. Tumak gets thrown out so he wanders around for a while until he finds another village that is quite different. These people are all very graceful, they have a real society and even know how to communicate, at least in basic ways. A lady named Loana decides to teach him their ways and so Tumak quickly becomes a good ally to have around. He has the strength to protect them from attacking monsters and now this society is where he can find peace. Unfortunately he messes that up and gets kicked out again so Loana leaves with him. Can they ever find peace?

A large chunk of the film is really about exploring what life may have been like back in these days. It’s basically why Tumak gets kicked out everywhere since it gives the film a chance to put him in different environments and see what happens. Here’s the problem though…they’re all very boring. I don’t care how many different settlements he sees, they’re all still just too basic to have anything interesting to depict. In a movie I typically need fast paced dialogue, a lot of quality banter, etc. You just don’t get that in this film and that’s a shame.

The random giant monsters are interesting enough at least. You have dinosaurs, giant lizards, etc. Of course this also ends up sinking the film into the animal violence issue which is just as bad. So now the film has that going against it in addition to the movie lacking in any quality characters. I also feel like the old outfits are just an excuse for a lot of fanservice as well. Surely the characters could all wear old fur coats instead of the classic cave costumes right? Feels like the movie’s trying to hide the lack of plot with this.

At the end of the day there just isn’t much for the film to do with this setup and it knows it. So you have a lot of fights and Tumak learning how to live but that’s about it and you can do that in 20 minutes. The rest of the film is effectively fluff and not very interesting fluff at that. The worst thing about the movie is ultimately that you’re just going to be very bored. There is nothing here to actively capture your imagination and that’s really the biggest problem of all. You need to be interested in what’s going on and engaged with the situation for a movie to be good.

The problem is that there isn’t anything to grab your attention. Why should you care about the cave people fighting each other when none of the characters are particularly fun? You shouldn’t is the main reason there. I wouldn’t say any modern level effects would have changed anything either because the place is supposed to look and feel old. There isn’t really a way around that no matter how much you squint.

Also, I do have to say that most films do need a lot of dialogue. You can absolutely pull off doing a film without much talking but it’s going to be very difficult and will fail much more often than it succeeds. Trust me on this, it’s not an easy task by any stretch of the imagination. You really have to give it your all and this film didn’t even come close. I also can’t picture a scenario where a film taking place in prehistoric times could pull it off.

A silent film in space with aliens all around for example could work. Perhaps a sci-fi title about escaping a room where you can’t talk. That silent film about the monsters that react to sound for example is a title that made the most of the premise so this actually made sense. You just need a massive hook like that in order to even attempt to make this a challenge.

Otherwise just adding dinosaurs and such isn’t going to be enough to tip the scales. Nah if anything it’s just going to remind you of how much more fun this could be if the characters were all talking and planning things out. At the end of the day of course if this sounds like your cup of tea then you should enjoy it. The film is very straight forward on what it is about. For example if you like the poster then you should like the movie. It’s not trying to subvert your expectations or throw in a bunch of plot twists. What you see is what you get and the film absolutely embraces this all the way down the line. It’s just not what I was looking for.

Overall, One Million Years ago never makes for a good setting for any film. Trust me on this, it’s the kind of setting you should actively avoid if you want to have any luck here! Films should take place in the modern day or the future if you want to have a leg up on the competition. That’s always my word of advice at least. Those are easily the best eras and I just like for everything to look really current. Then the characters still have to do their part but it’s a start. Yeah this film should be a skip.

Overall 1/10

Imadoki! Review

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It’s time for a blast from the past with this one. Imadoki is a romance manga that wasn’t particularly long but still had a lot going on. As far as romance titles go, it’s not bad but the character roster isn’t the strongest. There’s a ton of drama going on because the characters let themselves be overwhelmed by peer pressure so much. Over half of the series would just not exist if the characters had the strength needed to push themselves forward and just go after what they actually want. Instead all of the characters just end up feeling really frustrated the whole time.

The series starts off with Tanpopo transferring to a new school. She is eager to make some new friends but it won’t be easy since she isn’t as wealthy as the others. The instant that the students realize she is a commoner they quickly start bullying her as hard as possible. There is only one guy who seems nice named Kouki but while they’re at school he always pretends not to notice her. Additionally, since he is the most popular guy in school, this doesn’t help with the bullying. Tanpopo’s only chance here is to get close to Kouki while at the gardening club since they are some of the only members but can she pull this off? Also does she want to be just friends or more?

Kouki starts off kind of rough here because he is definitely a lot ruder than he needs to be towards Tanpopo. Pretending not to know her at school and not defending her is just a bit much. I get it if he wants to keep up his image but ultimately that just means he wasn’t a strong enough guy to deal with the consequences and do the right thing. Trying to fit in with the wrong crowd really isn’t a good idea in the slightest. Gradually he gets nicer until he doesn’t worry about those things as much but it’s still tough.

Then he falters in the second half because a girl named Erika shows up and he allows himself to become engaged to her out of obligation. See, she was promised to his brother Youji who ran off and so Kouki feels like he has to marry her now but that’s a pretty huge leap in logic. He then allows Erika to start bullying Tanpopo and chasing her out. At times he’s oblivious about this but it’s all so obvious that it doesn’t make him look any better since it’s basically his fault.

Kouki just gets pushed around a considerable amount throughout the series which puts him a level beneath a lot of the main Shoujo guys. It also feels like he’s rebounding a lot of times because there are several points where he basically decides he’ll settle with Erika and not actually go after Tanpopo. In fact this goes on for a long while since they were together all the way until the next semester started. Not a good look.

Of course Erika is an actual antagonist but at least she’s open about this. She does her best to crush Tanpopo and does this effectively by making bets with her and banking on the fact that Tanpopo would lose her nerve or something would go wrong at the last second. The worst part about this is definitely the fact that the plan worked so smoothly because in a lot of ways Tanpopo had the advantage but just didn’t have enough confidence to make it work. Erika is super dramatic and always trying for attention but I blame Kouki for falling for it just as hard as her for doing this.

Not to be outdone, we have another bully in the form of Tsukiko. She pretends to be Tanpopo’s friend at first while bullying her from the shadows and doing her best to wreck Tanpopo’s day. Some friend right? Ultimately she does turn over a new leaf after being exposed and from then on is a good character but it was another rough start. The series was almost like Dragon Ball Z where everyone started out as a villain and then gradually became a good person. Of course with less volumes there isn’t as much time to really develop them as heroes. At least she actually backed Tanpopo up by the end while most of the other friends scattered.

Arisa ended up being the most loyal friend by far but she wasn’t able to help out as much near the end due to being pregnant and as such not being able to run around with the rest of the gang. Her plot definitely got rather dark for a while there. Ultimately she has the best redemption arc as she got in with the wrong crowd and made a lot of mistakes but never tried taking anyone down with her. That’s the big difference compared with the others so you could root for her.

Then there is Aoi and you guessed it…he has a really rough start too. He is a hacker villain that decides to go after Tanpopo and Kouki, even going as far as to threaten Tanpopo’s life and take advantage of her in the process. The instant a character gets physical like that there really isn’t any coming back for him. He just went way too far so by the end when he turns good (Which isn’t even near the end. It’s basically immediately after the first appearance) then you have a hard time buying into it. He comes in handy a lot with how he stabs other villains and knows how to fight but in theory Tanpopo would never really be all that comfortable around the guy after that. He was just too much of a creep initially with the grabbing and licking.

Finally we have Youji and this guy’s not bad I guess. Of course within the story’s context he’s annoying since he shows up to cause more drama by getting together with Tanpopo but this isn’t actually a rebound per say from his side. See, he went after her after she had broken up with Kouki so she was a free agent at the time. Additionally, nobody was pressuring him into this and he seemed like a nice guy in general. Sure he definitely knew that Kouki liked her as well but Kouki was busy with Erika so that’s not a bad time to make a move. If he were to seriously get together with Erika afterwards then that’s more of a problem but while the manga hints that this will happen, I wouldn’t say that it’s confirmed.

Youji’s definitely not responsible with how he just ran off out of nowhere but he wouldn’t let the company control him so I get that. He just could have handled the whole situation better. So in a way he is the best character by default here. You also have Tanpopo who is nice enough but she falls into the rebound trap. She clearly liked Kouki from day 1 so she shouldn’t have even entertained the idea of being with Youji. This is the problem with rebounding, it’s like you throw logic out the window for a little bit and hang out with someone else while you get your feelings back in order but that’s not how it should be.

She also made a lot of the wrong calls when she was being pushed around by Erika. See, when Erika told her she had to leave the club after losing a bet, okay fine Tanpopo can leave. However, just tell the others this is why she left. Instead she says nothing and so they all get the wrong idea. You’re still honoring the bet but you’re at least letting people know that there was one. Of course Tanpopo shouldn’t have taken the bet in the first place since she was the head of the club. It just caused a lot of needless drama the whole time when there wasn’t any need for it which is a large part of the series really.

If the characters could just stick up for themselves then a lot of the issues wouldn’t have occurred here. The story is still compelling and I enjoyed the writing but a lot of it was rather contrived which does keep it from matching up against the bigger Shoujo titles. The art’s also really good. It’s very clear the whole time so you can easily read through the chapters right away. None of the characters are drawn too similarly either so each member of the main cast stands out. That can be tricky sometimes so I’m glad that this series didn’t run into that issue.

I’d also say that the humor works well enough. It’s personally not one of the funnier manga titles that I’ve read but the artwork could make for some fun comedic expressions. In general there is just more drama than comedy this time around. The tone always stays rather light so don’t think that this is a depressing title or anything but maybe some more joking around could have done the title some good as well. Give us more time with the characters just having fun and chilling out instead of jumping into the next school controversy or rival showing up.

There is very little time for the characters to just have their day to day adventures. I suppose the author wanted to just focus on the plot and keep things moving which is fine of course but perhaps this is what the series needed to make the characters more likable. Similar to how the Sailor Moon anime made all of the characters a lot better by throwing in a ton of filler. In the end that’s what filler is good for after all, developing the characters as needed.

Overall, Imadoki is a romance manga that can be fun but does end up being annoying a lot of the times. The characters need to learn to stand up for themselves and not just fall for every possible villain plan. That’s what this all comes down to after all. Also, the lack of a strong character cast is also what hurts this series. With better characters this absolutely would have been a much stronger adventure all around. Instead its potential does get rather limited. If you like romance manga then you should check this one out but otherwise there are a lot of better options.

Overall 4/10

The Trip to Bountiful Review

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It’s time for a movie that is pleasant enough but also supremely annoying. The ending isn’t at satisfying as the movie would have you believe and that’s because there just isn’t a reason to believe that things will be different. One character in particular is a massive pushover and looks awful the whole time. Seriously you do not want him in your corner because at the end of the day he’s really not going to do anything for you. He’ll just bow to peer pressure and then that’s the end of that.

The film starts off with introducing us to Carrie who has had to live through a rather unpleasant home environment for quite a while now. Her son Ludie has been completely dominated by his wife Jessie to the point where he will do all her bidding and never sticks up for his own mother. Jessie keeps on taking Carrie’s retirement checks and forbids her from doing basic things like singing hymns. She has also forbidden Carrie from ever going back to her real home. Carrie finally has enough of this and slips away during one sunny afternoon. She has a headstart now but is older and she’s heading for a town so small that most people don’t even know about it anymore. Will she be able to make it or will she be captured by Jessie? The clock is ticking and time is definitely not on her side.

Okay so the main annoying thing here is how much Ludie lets Jessie get away with. The guy is absolutely spineless for the entirety of the film to the point where I would call him an antagonist. When you just stand by and let your mother get picked on then you’re basically guilty in that respect. Ultimately when you’re married it is expected that your significant other will become the #1 priority in your life but you should still be able to see reason enough to stand up for yourself and call that person out when the wrong calls are being made.

This did not feel like a healthy or balanced relationship. Instead Ludie was basically just getting bullied the whole time and it’s a really bad look. It’s a massive L for this guy. Then of course you have Jessie who is still the main antagonist here. It’s crazy how she shamelessly takes the money and constantly barks out orders. She’s a very toxic person and one who shows no real signs of changing which is why the ending doesn’t land. Any scene with her is annoying and you just feel like the movie doesn’t really do anything to have her own up to her crimes. That’s really the biggest problem with her. If the film had acknowledged this…then okay fine I can get behind that. But since they don’t, that’s where the issues really come up.

Finally we have Carrie who is doing her best to get back home. She is very old during this adventure so that does put her at a big disadvantage. She also ends up succumbing to Jessie’s demands most of the time to please Ludie which is too bad since I’d like her to take a firmer stance. Ultimately it would bring more trouble but apologizing when you’re not the one at fault has always been a real annoying thing. You just shouldn’t have to do that under any circumstances.

There is one main side character here in Thelma who was a really nice character. She did her best to look out for Carrie during the bus ride as well as when they were at the bus stop. I actually thought she was going to be around for the whole film but ultimately she was just there for part of the journey. Her appearance was very appreciated though as she helped Carrie through a tough period and it would have been a lot tougher if Carrie was on her own. Ultimately Thelma was the highlight of the movie for just being a kind person in a movie where everyone else seemed rather cruel for no reason. Even the Sheriff took forever and a day to help Carrie out when giving her a simple drive seemed like a no brainer.

I’m also glad the film didn’t have Carrie die when she made it home, like she had just been hanging on until she got there. That definitely would have been real unfortunate. As I mentioned earlier this ending still isn’t perfect like with how the villains don’t really pay for their crimes. That’s something that really should have been fixed through and through. I wanted Carrie to insist she stays in town or just move off on her own. Even bolder, have Jessie leave, those would have all been more satisfying endings.

Instead the ending is basically that things will eventually work out and they all just have to take it. Pretty bad message if you ask me because none of it was Carrie’s fault. It’s the classic “We’re all a little at fault I guess” kind of ending that I never agree with. You shouldn’t have to pay for someone else’s issues and we saw nothing in the film to even suggest that Carrie was being a problem in any way. Throughout the film she was the one doing her best through and through.

That’s really the sore point of the film and what keeps it from getting a higher film. It just feels like the whole thing wasn’t fair at all and Carrie effectively got penalized for just being a nice person. That’s no good. If you watch this film, just get ready to be annoyed a whole lot because Carrie just trying to visit her home is something that should be a simple matter and not something she has to ask permission for. The whole thing is just bonkers.

Overall, This movie is still supposed to be more of a feel good title, but it forgot the feels good parts. If it was a little more upbeat and fun then I think we’d be having a very different conversation here. As it stands that just wasn’t in the cards and I can think of many better films to watch if you want to feel good. It’s time for this movie to instead be lost in the years of time.

Overall 4/10

The Beguiled Review

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This review is of the TV-14 version of the movie. All thoughts below should be addressed as such as a review of the unedited version would be more negative

If I saw this film in the theaters my disappointment would have been immeasurable and my day ruined. Look at this poster above? It’s a great poster and would get you hyped up for the movie. Now this is an excellent wild west adventure with some action right? Well the movie is anything but that. There are no true fight scenes here and instead we have a super awful main character and a bunch of bad side characters as well. Definitely a film that you will want to stay far away from without a doubt.

The movie starts off with John getting injured and a little girl notices him outside of her school. The headmistress reluctantly takes him in and they figure they should nurse him back to health before turning him over to the authorities. This film takes place during the civil war and the school is in the south while John is from the North. As a result their duty officially is to turn him over right away but they feel like this would not be just. So instead they are keeping him around and John figures that this is his chance to get away. His grand master plan is to seduce all of them and take over the school. The problem is…he’s succeeding. Can anyone stop him?

This is just a very mean spirited movie from start to finish. All of the characters are either corrupt or get corrupted as the events fly by. John isn’t a likable character and to the film’s defense he is the main antagonist so they’re not trying to make him likable. Whenever he shows up you’re just going to groan and he’s around for the entire film. Basically the guy has absolutely no shame in manipulating the emotions of the women there. The film is also going for the extra gritty points here by adding in two crazy additions to the plot. The first is that one of the girls is only 17.

Yeah the film went out of its way to confirm this just to make that whole plot even more awful. The film was morally bankrupt by this point. Then we see that Martha had an inappropriate relationship growing up and the less said on that the better. None of these additions do anything to improve the film or service the plot. They are only here for shock value and to remind you of what a trainwreck this movie is. At the end of the day that’s all this is and a film isn’t going to survive with this low level writing.

Shock value doesn’t work for more than a second but does lasting harm to the film. Just like that, all of the characters are ruined. John would have been ruined either way with how exaggerated he is and all the affairs he’s pulling off. The guy lies, cheats, and does whatever he can to survive all so he can avoid the war which makes him a true villain. Then the movie isn’t satisfied and also has him murder an animal just to let this all sink home. Oof that was bad.

The film really made sure that it fell into every possible cinematic landmine. The worst part is that despite this, Edwina doesn’t totally go against John. Yes she gets mad at him during several points of the film but by the end she seems to have actually forgiven him. I was shellshocked. See, the whole time I thought she was planning some kind of grand murder scheme and was just acting the part. See, that would actually make a lot of sense but the film doesn’t go this route. No, instead she got stockholm syndrome I guess and actually liked him.

At least the ending of the film is very satisfying. I got really worried that there would be a cop out at the end like the girl didn’t pick the right mushrooms but fortunately that doesn’t happen. Everything happens as it should and in a way John probably gets off a bit lighter than needed. Still, I’ll accept the outcome and while the film may have been beyond saving by that point anyway, it was a start. I was still glad to see this outcome at least.

It goes without saying that Martha’s a pretty bad character too despite trying to have a holier than thou attitude. She had a lot of issues of her own and a very troubled past. Martha also went out of her way to get even with John despite all of the excuses that she had afterwards. She absolutely knew what she was doing every step of the way and I don’t think anything could convince me otherwise. This is just who she was through and through. Edwina comes across as incredibly naïve and too emotional. The ending of the film hurt her big time as a result. Then Carol was also really annoying in her constant attempts to seduce John. This even eventually went all the way up to blackmail which was crazy and made her a full antagonist as well.

Yeah this film’s definitely no fun and you should stay far away. The film even has the southern soldiers show up at one point and then heavily imply that they were creeps as well. The scene that almost happens which the film kept hinting at was really not needed. The movie is so concerned with being edgy that it forgets to have a real plot and that’s the worst part about the film. You definitely could have tried to make a decent flick out of this even after you changed the basic plot and made the characters more likable. Instead it’s all just absurd and not in a fun way.

Overall, The film may have a satisfying ending but that doesn’t take away from the unlikable cast and all of the unnecessary elements of the film. I’s hard to get past those and ultimately the movie doesn’t have any fun. It’s definitely a hard film to finish and has below average pacing. Stick away from this one and watch something a lot more fun like the Tom & Jerry movie instead. That one will keep you entertained.

Overall 0/10

St Elmo’s Fire Review

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This review is of the TV-14 edited version of the film. All thoughts below should be addressed as such as a review of the unedited version would be more negative

It’s time for a particularly brutal film. When you think of a dramatic romance film this is the kind of title that comes to mind because it’s so over the top that you’re going to be cringing a whole lot. None of the characters are likable in the slightest and the whole thing is like an out of control fire. Trust me you’re going to want to stay far away from this one.

The movie starts by introducing us to a group of teenagers. They have a very complicated interpersonal relationship structure going on. They’re having affairs with each other, living their life, and crushing hearts all at the same time. After graduating school they figure they can still be friends but that is quickly found to be impossible. There are just too many relationship dramas going on and for at least one character it may even be life threatening. Is there any way to salvage this?

All the characters here are awful but I guess we should still break this down a bit. First up is Kirby who is a super desperate guy. He likes one girl who basically never gives him the time of day but each time he thinks he can win her over. He always overanalyzes what she says and now thinks that he needs to get rich and then she’ll go out with him. Of course he should ask himself why he is chasing after her like this. If she is only going to get together with him if he’s rich…then is that really love? Of course there are some conversations online about how gold digging is actually really good and the strongest bond but I feel like that is mostly hopium and not rooted in any facts. Regardless this guy is extremely annoying. Kirby has a lot of competition for worst character along with all his friends but the guy doesn’t do himself any favors.

Then you have Jules who is trying to have an affair with her boss but things aren’t going so well. She’s also leading on another guy who is having troubles of his own and ultimately this leads to her getting really depressed and nearly ending it all. It’s definitely a rough situation all around and while she may have dug herself into this situation, you do feel bad for her. It’s just that the whole movie is so overly dramatic that it all doesn’t hit as well. Even while she is about to die, her “friends” are fighting with each other and one nearly gets thrown off the building. Not a good look right?

The problem is that they’re all cheating on each other with others so it’s only natural that none of them can trust each other. Then there’s Billy who is really messing around by being with everyone and has gone in with the wrong crowd. He’s way too off the deep end and has a bad attitude about everything. Even when characters try to help him out and get him a job he has no gratitude. You can’t really help a character like that.

There’s Wendy who is the nice character but ultimately she makes a lot of mistakes in the relationships as well and cracks by the end. Honestly the best thing you can do in this situation is to get away from the other characters as fast as possible. I dare say that almost anyone would be dragged into the mud along with them after enough exposure. It’s why it’s so important to choose your friends wisely because otherwise you will just begin to get corrupted as a person as well and then there is no coming back from that. I mean you can come back from that but of course it gets difficult.

There are a bunch of other teenagers here but ultimately the characters are going to start blending together. They’re already sounding a bit similar in the summaries above right? Well one last one to put a spotlight on is Kevin because he’s particularly bad. So he fell in love with Leslie a long time ago but never had enough courage to mention this so he’s basically been her “friend” for ages. Finally he gets drunk enough to confess and they have a quick affair but the whole thing is basically a summation of the worst Hollywood romance tropes.

First off you have the classic idea that any “friend” is always secretly looking to get together with you the instant that you drop your guard. That was definitely rough here, like really? Then the girl was easy enough where they did have a fling which ends up adding a lot of tension since her other boyfriend shows up later on. Ultimately if you like your friend like that then you have to confess early on or keep the secret to the grave. If you stretch it out then you’re basically taking advantage since all the times you were hanging out platonically, it wasn’t actually platonic. This guy just felt way too whiny the whole time.

Needless to say I didn’t find the writing in the film to be particularly impressive. With no likable characters to root for, the film was always going to be very limited in what it could pull off. You need at least one great character around or else the whole thing’s kind of pointless. There’s a ton of drama here but all of the problems are basically self inflicted wounds by the characters in putting themselves in these scenarios. The film starts to drag and it goes without saying that the romances here are awful. In short the movie doesn’t give you any real reason to enjoy it.

Overall, I definitely recommend staying far away from this film. The whole film is a fire in a sense so I guess I can give them some props for living up to the premise but that’s it. There are no redeeming factors about the movie and at no point will you be entertained. This one desperately needs a remake from the ground up that changes everything about it, but at that point it’s basically a different film anyway.

Overall 1/10

American Underdog

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It’s time to take a look at a movie about Kurt Warner. I definitely remember him a lot growing up, I missed his golden years but he was still recent enough where he was in all of the books. I remember him as a very explosive QB and an elite talent all around so I was looking forward to seeing what he was like here. That said, while the film is very good and goes into great detail on the work it took to get to the NFL, it dropped the ball on one key aspect. We don’t get to see almost any of his actual NFL journey and considering that he won a Super Bowl, that’s a pretty big deal. We really should have gotten more NFL screen time even if it meant extending the film by 30 minutes or so.

Kurt was always good at throwing the ball but as we see in his younger years he would scramble a whole lot and his coach didn’t like that. He wanted Kurt to be a pocket passer even if it meant taking absolutely devastating shots throughout the game. Kurt did his best but it wasn’t working so well and he was starting to wonder if he would ever end up playing in the NFL. Around this time he met up with a lady named Brenda and they hit it off right away. The main dilemma Kurt faces from there is if he continues to chase his dream but in the meantime he will be super low on money which is rough for their family or he finds a stable job and gets out of the sports game.

Of course we know the answer since this is based on his incredible career but that’s where most of the drama is. He and Brenda may have gotten together right away but their troubles only just begin from there. First up is obviously the financial issues since that’s always a strain on any relationship. Then due to Kurt’s job, he has to be away from home a whole lot because there are always games to be had and practices. Kurt’s with a lot of younger guys all the time who may not be the best of influences as well so he has to constantly guard himself against temptations and that’s also rough for Brenda while she’s at home. Brenda already had a negative experience in that way with her first husband. Finally Brenda is a little older than Kurt and already has a kid, both things of which can appear as red flags and Kurt’s mother isn’t particularly pleased with this arrangement.

Yeah they’ve got a lot of hurdles to overcome that’s for sure. In general you usually see the wife being younger than the husband as the norm but if the gap’s not that large I don’t think it should matter. My rule of thumb is of course it’s ideal if both people are about the same age but if there’s a gap, I think you can make it work up to 10 years or so, obviously as long as both are over 21. In this case the gap is 4 years which is basically nothing really. I think having a kid already is a bit of a tougher one since often times you want a fresh start and to have your first kid together.

Fortunately Kurt’s a great guy and gets along with the kids (There are 2 of them after all) right away. Brenda’s also a very responsible person with a good head on her shoulders and basically lets Kurt know that the kids are her priority and if he’s cool with that. He is and so things are good there. I could have done without some of the drama near the middle as I felt like it went on a bit longer than it needed to be but if that’s how it played out in real life then of course it makes sense to keep that in.

I enjoyed the Football moments a lot and his coach at the Rams was definitely a very likable guy. The OC took a little more getting used to since he seemed to be mean for no reason. The whole “Tough Love” approach can be annoying at times because sure being tough for a little bit can be a character builder but when you go too far it just comes across as obnoxious. I would personally have focused more on the Football though because it’s always great to see the games. I watch the NFL every year after all and can never get enough of it. Nowadays I’ll even check out the late games when I can and as much during the day as possible. With movie directing and such you can probably make it even more epic so that’s still my one complaint which I keep bringing up.

The drama is important of course and same with the romance but you could still cut large chunks of those scenes out and you’ll be all set. I think it’s a worthy tradeoff for some more Football action don’t you think? The Super Bowl is the main reason he got a film after all. If Kurt didn’t win a Super Bowl then the story wouldn’t be quite as miraculous the way it is today and so since that was such a big part of his legacy it should be included here. More than just a scene or two the way that it happened, I wanted a full breakdown of the season and everything!

Overall, American Underdog is definitely a really solid film. Kurt Warner was one of the best to ever do it and he definitely went through a path that seems like it would be super hard to replicate. He is the one in a million scenario here. If you’re interested in the details of how he got to the top then I definitely recommend checking this one out. Now we just need them to do a film on the greatest QB of all time, Tony Romo!

American Sniper

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This write-up is based on the TV-14 edited version of the film. All thoughts below should be addressed as such as a review of the unedited version would be more negative

I can only imagine how difficult it is to be a sniper in an active combat zone. On top of the pressures on the average soldier which are already numerous, you’re now someone who has the added burden of watching out for them. If you notice a threat too late or hesitate to pull the trigger, you may lose comrades and that’s guilt that will stay with you for the rest of your days. You also have to be super accurate because in real life people are constantly moving and so all it takes is an inch to miss. Yeah it’s definitely not a gig that I would want but someone’s got to do it and this film’s about one of the best in the business.

The film starts off by introducing us to Chris who learned how to shoot at an early age by his father. They would go on hunting trips and such. Chris was also taught to defend himself and to stick up for others from early on as since he was blessed with great strength and ability, he needed to use that. This ultimately ends up giving him a bit of a hero/martyr complex as he goes into war and then he just can’t leave. After every term is up he keeps on re-enlisting which causes some strife at home with his wife. Ultimately if he continues to go out there as a sniper he can keep on saving a lot of lives but it may cost him his own as his family will have to move on without him. Can he choose to exit the game now or must he press on?

It’s a tough question of course and one that you always have to wrestle with. In life there is always something extra you can be doing to help someone else. Whether it be something really dangerous like going to war or something more mild like volunteering at a local soup kitchen there are always people who need help and ways for you to provide that. You also have to balance it against your own mental and physical health as well as keeping time to spend with your family. Everyone ultimately has to figure this answer out for themselves and it’s why I won’t say Chris was incorrect to keep on going.

If the guilt of not going to war and saving his troops would have ate him up then it makes sense to keep on going. Ultimately once he took out the enemy sniper then he was finally ready to call it a day but even then he was haunted for a while. When you’ve been in war all your life it has to be tough to just go back to being a normal civilian again. I’m personally against hunting in general and think we shouldn’t be doing that at all. It did allow Chris to develop the skills that he would ultimately need to take down the enemies but ultimately I’d like to see robotics improve enough to where you can practice on them rather than wildlife. The animal scene was a bit rough here.

Aside from Chris there really isn’t much of a main cast. His fellow soldiers tend to change for every draft since most aren’t voluntarily deciding to jump back into the fray. For a lot of these guys that probably sounds crazy since so many people die normally, re-enlisting is doubling your chances to die. There are other patriots like Chris who will keep on enlisting but they are likely the minority there.

His wife is around a lot and you can see how things are difficult for her. Effectively she is raising her kid as a single mom at this point with how he’s never home and that’s not easy. In general you get married for companionship as a main component so being by yourself tends to defeat the purpose. She definitely fought hard to stop Chris from going each time but in the end he was just too determined.

On the enemy side the only person with a lot of screen time was the enemy sniper who could really hold his own against Chris. The guy’s skills were legit and he also got a lot of kills on his side. Of course each one would eat away at Chris more and more even though most of the time it really wasn’t on him. He can’t do everything and taking out other snipers can be a part of his job but ultimately covering the troops and looking for threats is the main one. In a large battlefield you won’t always be in the right place at the right time.

It’s a different perspective on the battles compared to the normal ones for sure since usually you’re following the soldiers, not the sniper at the top. There isn’t a lot of variety in the scenery as a result though and if you’re not really into war movies then a portion of the film will probably get a little boring after a while. This movie isn’t aiming to be super entertaining, funny, or like a summer blockbuster. It’s really a movie about how traumatic war can be so this won’t really be for everyone. That said, the film properly gives you the right impression of what it’ll be about so you should know right out of the gate if you will like it or not.

Overall, The movie seems to be very true to the story of Chris’ life. I don’t know a whole lot about it myself but there’s a lot of good detail here and at the end they also give you the aftermath. Often times films based on true stories don’t have the happiest of endings which is why it was big enough to be a movie. So I understand why they kept the afterword in even if it’s not really the best way to end things off. If you’re up for an intense war film then this should be up your alley but definitely be ready for a very emotional experience.

Lord El-Melloi II’s Case Files {Rail Zeppelin} Grace note: Waver, Reunion, and the Magic Lantern Review

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This review’s been a long time coming in part because I was toying with different ways of listing the title. The normal TV show was already a mouthful and then the TV special had an episode title of sorts. I wanted to go with “New Year’s Special” or something but nobody seems to really refer to it that way as a title and most barely even use this episode. I could have called it special episode but that seemed too general. So after a ton of back and forth…you’ve got this mammoth title!

The basic plot here is that Waver ends up meeting two of his old classmates from back in the day. Amleth who is good at illusion type magic (This is Fate so that’s a super simplified version of his abilities which are a lot more technical than that) and his partner Camus who used to be good friends with Waver. They’re really looking forward to the big class reunion coming up but when Waver wakes up the next day he has reverted back to his days of being a child. What could have caused this? He needs to figure out a way to reverse this and quickly or he will be the laughing stock of the reunion! Additionally there may be something a little more sinister at play.

It’s definitely always fun to have a special that takes place across Christmas and New Year’s. This is a fairly low stakes adventure that is more about showing you all of the characters and having fun with the cast than an end of the world event and that’s what you would expect for a fun TV special like this. Just about all of the supporting characters from the show appear to help out or just to tease Waver at times.

We do get one brief action scene for Gray to use her mystical Saber type abilities but beyond that this is a chance for fans to see the old Waver interact with the new cast. While this spell did not affect his mind much at first, the longer he’s in his younger body the more he starts to act like his old self as well. He just can’t drudge up the same level of confidence when he looks this young after all. It doesn’t help that he was never much of a fighter either so take away his confidence and then things really get dicey.

The special is part mystery. Now obviously you know something is up with either Amleth or Camus (Or both) since they’re the new characters here acting really shady. Illusions are also one way to make someone appear younger right? As the special goes on we have to find out the motive behind this because surely you wouldn’t go through all of this work just for some kind of personal prank right? Nah that wouldn’t track and of course we do get a sob story by the end so watch out for that.

Ultimately the motivation isn’t great. It’s a very personal one to be sure but it just makes one character look a bit whiny/petty. One character was certainly a bit oblivious back in the day so someone’s feelings got hurt but in that case I’d say what I always say. If you’re the one who likes someone else then the initiative is on you to make the move. If you prefer to just drop hints then that’s fine but they should be rather direct hints since vague ones can absolutely be misinterpreted. By the end Waver feels rather guilty about how he used to be but at the same time I think it’s a bit harsh. You can’t expect to recognize everything as the situation is unfolding. Looking back with hindsight is also not effective since that’s completely different.

The writing in the special is on point and so it all goes by very quickly. The animation is also very solid. While we don’t get a whole lot of action here, Gray’s attack animation is as stunning as ever. Additionally the soundtrack is still really good as you’d expect since Fate always has grand music. The grand feel of the soundtrack works just as well for the mystery here since the characters are always in such elaborate mansions. The character/location designers for Fate always do a great job.

Overall, This was a fun special. There isn’t a whole lot to talk about since it’s under an hour and the plot is part mystery so you don’t want to spoil things. That said, it’s solid on all sides and so you could recommend it to anyone. Someone who is not familiar with Fate will probably get less out of it but you can appreciate the fun vibes of the special and the mystery either way. It has a good blend of humor and suspense to keep you engaged all the way through. Hopefully we get more content in the El Melloi part of the franchise soon because mysteries within the Fate verse definitely work really well. With all of the complex magical spells all around it makes for a lot of possibilities in any case. It definitely increases the variables compared to a normal detective kind of adventure even if you always have to assume Waver will need to be lucky in order to not just get blown up by the culprit since most could just take him out in a single blow. It’s tough being a scholar in a world of warriors but I suppose until the next Grail War he should be mostly safe.

Overall 7/10