This movie could’ve been a disaster. Movies based on video games tend not to be great, and adaptations of different animes also don’t seem to win plenty of fans over. But somehow, Pokémon Detective Pikachu manages to not only be watchable, but also fun(ish)?
Let’s face it, it has something to do with Ryan Reynolds and his “performance” as Pikachu, where somehow it just works for him to be this big, yellow, ball of fluff and sarcasm.
This movie is not GREAT by any means, but I don’t think you will regret watching it either. It’s a good movie for the entire family, where if you grew up with the original Pokémon TV show, you might rate this slightly higher. Even now, while writing this review I’m not sure how I will rate this movie.
On one hand, it’s a nice, clean, family movie, with pleasant run time, good casting and pretty good mystery. I also liked what they’ve done with Mewtwo. On the other hand, the true Pokémon fans will probably be disappointed we didn’t get to see any proper battle, the obvious bad guy was fairly obvious from the very beginning and now, a mere day later, I can only recall one pretty good sequence that stood out (not going to spoil it, let’s just say really, really big Pokémons might have something to do with that).
It’s also a never good sign where you’re trying to write a review for a movie and struggling to come up with anything, as the movie isn’t great, but it also isn’t terrible, it just IS.
I feel like given everything I’ve said, I now know how I’m going to rate this film, but I need to stress out, I was surprised by this film, as I’ve expected this to be way, way worse than this. If you’re looking for something decent to watch, you might like Pokémon Detective Pikachu, just don’t expect anything more from it than a decent movie with really cute and fluffy Pikachu, voiced by the always reliable (at least over the past 5/6 years) Ryan Reynolds.
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
That’s all for this one? What did you think? Do you think there will be a sequel? Let me know!
Attack of the Clones is my favourite prequel. There, I said it. Yes, I am ashamed. Yes, I am perfectly sane. Really. No, really I am.
The story picks up 10 years after Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, where we get grown up Anakin Skywalker played by Hayden Christensen and if there is anything or anyone more hated from these prequels beside Jar Jar Binks, it’s definitely Hayden. And look… his performance in this movie is bad, I can’t defend that. I think he gets better in the last one, but I will keep it for that review. But I honestly can’t blame him, and I’ll give you two reasons why:
I have seen him in really under-seen movie Shattered Glass, where he gets to play an interesting character really well (and he’s made it in between the Star Wars movies, just FYI) and because of that I know he’s got something in him, if you know how to direct him. Which brings me to my second point…
Show me somebody in this movie that gives GREAT performance. I adore actors like Ewan McGregor and Natalie Portman but even these two talented actors, who shine in other movies, feel just… fine in here. I think an argument could be made here, that plenty of people focused on Hayden’s performance almost exclusively, as he’s given most of the screen time. And as people were disappointed with this movie, he was the easiest one to point the fingers at. I believe we should talk more about Lucas’s “direction”, as (especially in the third episode where he basically undoes everything that made Natalie’s character interesting) he can’t really work with new (?) actors… Also, from another actors it’s quite clear most of the actors were in a green screen studio, reacting to nothing, given minimum directions, so there is that…
The story is intriguing as we can see the “rise” of Stormtroopers, start of the “Clone Wars” that were referenced in Episode IV, count Dooku (all hail Christopher Lee!) and most importantly, the big arena Jedi fight near the end.
That might be the main reason why this is my favourite out of the prequels – until then, we’ve not seen anything like that, where plethora (what a big word!) of Jedi Knights are going up against droids in one arena, where Mace Windu for the first time ever introduces different lightsaber colour than blue, green or red (and purple is definitely my favourite lightsaber colour). Still my favourite scene of the entire prequel trilogy.
Of course, we can’t forget to please the fans, so here’s where Jango Fett (father of Boba Fett) is introduced and killed, this is where, for the very first time, we see Yoda actually go toe-to-toe with somebody and it’s pretty cool, and we also take a peak at the early plans of the ultimate weapon (aka Death Star).
This is what I meant in my previous review for Phantom Menace – Lucas had a vision and plan, therefore he actually planted plenty of tiny easter eggs throughout the entire prequel trilogy, so I do admire that. Still wish he would let somebody else to “play” with him on these, somebody he would actually listen to, and most importantly, somebody who wouldn’t be afraid to tell him “look George, are you sure about this, and this, and this…?”
Objectively, this movie is around 3*, maybe slightly lower, but again, it’s Star Wars. And it’s something I grew up on, so for me it’s easier to ignore the stuff I don’t like, and enjoy the stuff I really like. It’s alright if you don’t agree with me.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
That’s all for this one! Which of these did you enjoy/hate more? Let me know!
Before reading my review, I highly recommend reading something about Sada Abe – yes, this movie is based on a real life incident, and her life seems exactly the way you’d expect after watching this movie.
I’ve heard a few things about this movie, so I thought I was prepared for it.
I wasn’t.
Forgive me, if my sentences are shorter than usual, but I’m still trying to process what I’ve just watched.
In the Realm of the Senses is not a movie for everyone. It’s definitely on the artsy side of movie-making, where it’s not hard to follow (the story couldn’t be more simpler) but you need to get over all the nudity, sex, devotion, passion… Let’s put it this way, if you are one of those people, who blush easily during a Hollywood “sex scene”, prepare to be as red as communist’s flag on 1st of May, as boy, oh boy… This movie isn’t about anything else than two people being devoted to each other, where both take it too far (but arguably Sada took it way, way further).
The version I’ve seen was 109 minutes, but I guarantee you, if somebody was to cut all the non-sexual scenes from the movie (and I’m almost 100% convinced somebody’s already done that) the movie would still be around 85/90 minutes. That tells you everything you need to know. In a way, it’s fascinating.
So, is this just a porn movie that somehow got theatrical run? I am going to say no, and yes, I know it sounds weird, especially with everything I wrote up until this point, but bear with me. It’d be really easy to discredit this film as nothing but dirty porn movie about nymphomaniac with some mental issues, but that’d discredit everything the movie is trying to convey.
I feel like this is more about what the movie is trying to make you feel, rather than the visuals. Because after a while, you become desensitised to all the nudity and sex, and start noticing how by each act, each new day, the stakes between the couple are getting higher, the passion/devotion these two had for each other, there was something special about that. I’m not saying something healthy, or something we should all be aiming for, dear god no. But when you focus on the story/character of Sada, and her passion to control the love of her life to the point where it results in one really disturbing scene most men would love to never see again in their lifetime, that’s when you either understand the method to the madness, or not. Because at the end of the day, she was extremely sad, somewhat mentally broken character, and the way I read this movie, she was just looking for somebody to help/sympathise with her, somebody she could feel safe with.
I was a bit mesmerised by this movie, I thought Eiko Matsuda gave chilling performance and it’s s shame what happened to the actress after (basically she was shamed and almost banned in Japan, forced to life in France for most of her life) she made this film.
Is this a movie I need to see again? Probably not, but when comes to this I do have a rule, which is to never say never. But it’s definitely not something that you’d just pop in one Saturday afternoon for some quality family time (if yes, what the fuck is wrong with you? :-D)
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3.5 out of 5.
This is it for this controversial movie. Have you seen it? If so, what did you think? Let me know!
So, this is where to “fun” starts. I have so many conflicting thoughts, about this particular movie, I will definitely have to use two ratings, as I can’t do it any other way. But let’s start from the beginning, shall we? (words uttered by George Lucas in late 90’s).
Unlike most Star Wars fans, I grew up watching the originals alongside the prequels (born in 1991) so I was introduced to both of them almost simultaneously. And even as a kid, not knowing anything about cinema, the cult status Star Wars had established over the 20 years (again, we are in the 90’s, the Internet wasn’t THE thing yet and I couldn’t understand English) I could tell the movies felt differently, and not just “the old ones looked worse, the new ones looked better” way. There was something about the prequels I couldn’t place. I think I do get it now – these are all sole responsibility of George Lucas, whereas the original trilogy had different writers/directors. And as much I admire George for everything he’s done, he should’ve had somebody else take a look at the script, as that’s by far the weakest part of this movie. Some things you can’t deny from the prequels, they enriched the Star Wars universe with new, diverse planets, characters and they had a plan for what the trilogy will be about. It’s honestly shame Lucas felt he could do everything by himself.
I still remember watching The Phantom Menace for the first time, it was in my grandma’s “cabin close to the woods” (just to explain – it’s fairly common for Czech people to have tiny cabins/houses someplace close to a nature where one would go for a weekend, or week’s holiday. Most of the time, these are really not fancy at all, as the point would be to have as little technology there as possible, to “unplug” from the world for a bit and go back to the nature) on her tiny, black and white 10″ TV (that’s right, my very first time watching this movie was in black and white on a really tiny TV). Since there was a gathering of neighbours, I couldn’t really enjoy the movie as much, but I knew it’s being recorded at home on… VHS (oh yeah, that’s how old I am) so I was looking forward to that. Then I watched it at home properly and liked it. Not as much as the originals, but I did like it.
Over the years I’ve seen the prequel trilogy (including this one) plenty of times, last time it was about 3 weeks prior, on Disney+. And yes, the contrast between the original Star Wars and this one is huge, but I honestly believe that’s because George wanted it like that. The problem here is, did it work…? This is where I’m conflicted – I feel like even though some parts of this might be laughable (obviously Jar Jar is annoying, but I’ve never hated him as much as 90% of the Internet) as a whole, the movie somehow works. The story flows, it doesn’t feel bloated, and even though it’s almost 2 hours and 20 minutes, it goes by quickly, which is definitely plus.
And this is (probably) where my personal bias comes in (oh hello, old friend) I grew up with these movies, the same way some people in the 80’s grew up with the original trilogy. I can’t blame people who hate the prequels, as they are totally different to the thing they grew up loving, but at the same time, I can’t join those people, as they are not that bad. Looking back at them now, every episode has something in them that elevates it and adds something to the Star Wars universe, this one had given us probably the most bad-ass Star Wars piece of soundtrack ever composed, listen for yourself:
Yes, I know that’s a bold statement to make given the rich history of Star Wars music, but I stand by it (I’m very, very brave). Also the lightsaber fight between Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan and Darth Maul is great, even though the finish might be slightly anticlimactic. I’m also in the group of people who likes the pod-racing sequence.
While re-watching all 9 episodes of “Skywalker Saga”, something occurred to me – you can say anything you want about the prequels, but one thing you can’t say is that George Lucas didn’t have it planned out. He knew exactly what he wanted to make, what story he wanted to tell over the course of these three movies, and that’s a really big plus with every trilogy (looking at you, sequels). Did he succeed on every level? Does that excuse Jar Jar? Does that give him a permission to change the original movies as much as he has? No, no and no. It’s up to you, to judge that.
The objective rating of this would probably be around 3*, but this is Star Wars. And even this one (which for me is the weakest one of the prequels) still holds a special place in my heart. Please don’t kill me for that. Just for the record, I am not putting the prequels anywhere close to the originals, as they are untouchable. I like them in their own way.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
This is all for this one? How much you disagree with me on this? Maybe don’t let me know this time 🙂 Just kidding, please do.
This review will contain spoilers (not that it matters that much, as most of it can be predicted by a semi-intelligent toddler).
Where to start… The Circle is an okay movie, that thinks it’s smart as fuck motherfucker. But it isn’t. This movie has some really capable actors, but only 3 are trying their best (Emma Watson, Karen Gillan and Tom Hanks) and one isn’t given enough space (John Boyega). I would like to discuss Tom’s performance in this movie for a bit, to make you understand why I was really underwhelmed with this film.
I really wish more people (especially in a movie like this) would act the same way as him – he’s probably the only “bad” character there that isn’t “cartoonishly” (yep, that’s 100% a word, believe me! I have words, many words, the best words…) bad, because he actually tries to come from a place where he plays this character like a good guy (at least for most of the movie). The others, supporting characters around him, they are paint by number weird, cult-like acting people and look, I do understand the point that “The Circle” made them that way, to the point they don’t realise how they’re behaving, but Jesus-Pole-Dancing-Christ, it doesn’t always have to be so on the nose. Because whatever message you’re trying to send, audience isn’t receiving.
I am not quite sure why was this film pitched, written, or even shot – it feels more like a rejected episode of Black Mirror (if you are looking for something that actually shows you various dangerous of technology, without being preachy or over the top, this is a brilliant show) which was around for 6 years (technically 5 years, as movies tend to take time to be filmed, edited etc., but you know, technicality) by the time this movie was made. And for the life of me I can’t figure out who actually thought they are making something “high-stake”? I mean, honestly?
When comes to movies like this, I genuinely hope all the actors got paid good money, as there was only one thing I’ve enjoyed about this movie (read, didn’t feel predictable), the SoulSearching sequence felt like something that was a pretty good idea. It’s a shame they didn’t surround the movie around this, maybe development of this, and eventually using this to track down more people. But no, instead we get this wannabe Facebook, that hammers us with the same message, that somehow thinks it’s original…? I’m honestly lost with this movie.
What I always do after I finish a movie, is go to Trivia section on IMDb to read them and see, if there is anything interesting. And this one really caught my attention:
The ending was changed significantly for the film adaptation. In the novel, Mae, fully believing in The Circle’s goals and mantras, betrays Ty in his attempt to bring down the company and he is effectively silenced.
Can I just politely ask one, quite simple question? Why the FUCK would you change it to that Hollywood ending? I am honestly curious who thought this paint by numbers movie needed a generic ending. If they’ve kept this ending, focusing more on Mae’s character getting lost in “The Circle”, so it’d make sense for her to do that, it could’ve been a pretty decent, non-generic movie, with an interesting twist at the end. Shame, as this way by the next week, I’ll probably forget everything about this movie, as nothing stands out.
And BTW, if you hire John Boyega, can you maybe give him more than 10 minutes of the movie time, especially if he’s supposed to be the founder (I know he’s in hiding and what not, but still…) People who’ve seen Attack the Block know he can carry a movie with no issues.
⭐⭐
Rating: 2 out of 5.
This is all for this movie. What did you think? Was I too harsh? Let me know!
By now you can tell my rating when comes to this movie, that’s for sure. Even though this would probably be the “weakest” of the original Star Wars movies. I know some people hate the Ewoks, or see them for what they were – marketing ploy to sell more Star Wars merchandise. I don’t really mind them, I understand those people. You could also say most of the action on the Endor planet is ridiculous, as these teddy bears are holding their own against Stormtroopers, rendering them as not that big of a threat. And look… that’s a good point. To some extent, pretty valid one.
But I am not one of those people. Yes, the Stormtroopers should’ve never been a “real” threat to anybody, and the Ewoks just used the environment to their advantage. And re-watching this episode you can actually tell plenty of them dies during the battle, so I’d not be as harsh on Ewoks.
Let’s talk about something else than Ewoks, before my entire blog turns into Ewok admiration weekly 🙂
When I said this is probably the weakest one of the original trilogy, I wasn’t referring to the quality of the movie, not at all. I was only referring to those two movies prior being giants in the way they influenced and to some extent outgrown the medium, whereas this movie just neatly ties everything together and doesn’t break any new grounds. Which is only an issue if you make it. Sometimes, film needs to serve a function and this movie’s function was simply to finish on a high note, tie everything together and make some money on the way. Return of the Jedi definitely succeeded, hitting every one of those.
We get a second Death Star (because if something works first time, why bother?) we get an awesome confrontation between Luke, Vader and Palpatine while he watches his friends getting defeated in the space, we get the final revelation of this trilogy about Leia (I won’t spoil this just in case somebody still doesn’t know) and everything flows really well.
That’s one thing all the Star Wars movies have in common – doesn’t matter if it’s the original trilogy, prequels, or sequels – they all have given us a movie where there are 3 battles going on and we cut from one to the other almost flawlessly. This one has the battle of Endor, while Luke is having a confrontation with Darth Vader WHILE there is an attack on the new Death Star.
If anything, I’d love for other movies to get inspired and try to give us more of this, coherent action that happens simultaneously, where it doesn’t have to be edited to bits.
I really liked writing reviews for the original Star Wars movies, but I still feel like given the fact that everything has already been said about these movies in the past 40 or so years, it’s hard to try to come up with something new. Just hope you can tell from these reviews how much I adore these movies, and I hope you found them enjoyable. Onto the prequels we go (oh boy… that won’t be controversial at all :-))
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
That’s all for this one. What did you think, did you like the way the original trilogy ended? Let me know!
I have mixed feelings about The Player. On one hand I respect Robert Altman, I loved the unbroken opening shot where movie people are talking about unbroken shots in different movies (“I haven’t seen that one, I only watch American movies”) and I do love the “meta” thing Altman has going on (more on that later).
What I found hard to grasp is everything else – the story is pretty straightforward, so you won’t get lost, but I couldn’t help but feel disconnected from it. I don’t know how to put it in words – have you ever been in a situation where you knew “I should be happy right now” or “I should be sad” but couldn’t, as you were somehow disconnected from the world? That’s how I felt watching this movie, disconnected, emotionally blank. It might’ve been on purpose that we, as just a common viewer, weren’t meant to feel connected to these Hollywood types who refuse ideas on daily basis because “they only have a budget for 12 ideas/year.” If so, the movie succeeded.
The Player does have an interesting story and where I wish it could’ve been bit more “meta”, aware of itself, as it seems somehow disjointed – are we meant to sympathise with Griffin Mill (I honestly wish to see Tim Robbins in more newer movies, as he’s such an underrated actor) even though there is no morality to him? I don’t think the character has one redeeming quality, but then again, the “metaness” (that’s 100% a word!) of this movie comes in where “the bad guy doesn’t have to punished”.
I really liked the meta factor of this movie, where for the entirety of it, people are pitching different movies (Graduate Part II is my personal favourite), usually starring Julia Roberts and Bruce Willis, so we can then see both of them at the very end in the movie that “is not even American movie, this is real, black woman goes to die in a gas chamber, they found out she was innocent and her man tries to rescue her, but he’s too late!” is not so subtle wink at Hollywood and their entire thing about being “real and relatable”. And nothing has changed in almost 30 years, go reckon…
This is one of the movies I can’t wait to re-watch in a couple of years to see whether I feel the same about it as I do now, because who knows? Maybe on my second viewing I’ll find it better than now, but for now, it is, what it is.
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
That’s all for this one? What’s your favourite Altman movie? Let me know!
I know what you’re thinking – hey, this isn’t start of the franchise, this is the second movie, you dummy! And yes, technically you’d be right, except as I mentioned in my previous review for Episode IV, only because of the massive success the original Star Wars was, the studios established this would be a trilogy.
When I talk about “the start of the franchise”, this doesn’t touch on just these movies, by the way. As I was talking about in my previous review, where things weren’t planned, this is the total opposite to that and to some degree influenced our pop-culture even more, as in here we are seeing world building (several different planets, not just space ships), we see characters who are established here for the final movie (fan favourite Boba Fett, which I have never understood why as he doesn’t really do much in either movie) and obviously the ending that only “ends” this movie but not the plot per say, if that makes sense. There is no finality to this episode, as it ends on the (in)famous plot twist, on a darker note where our heroes are down. This doesn’t end with celebration and medals.
In my mind, this is what makes this movie the fan favourite in all the “Skywalker Saga” and that includes me. I am so fortunate to have seen this movie when I was around 11/12 years old, without it being spoiled for me (I know right!) so you can imagine how my young mind, who’s seen the original Star Wars movie a week prior, was enjoying this movie and then the twist came and I was mind blown. I remember thinking this was so mad, how could this be!
When I was re-watching this movie 2 weeks ago, nothing has changed. Yes, I wasn’t as flabbergasted as I was before, I was there for the ride and what a sweet ride it still is, even though it’s now been 40 years. I still admire that somebody had the balls. after the almost lighthearted original where good guys win and everything is great, to come up with a sequel that ends on a (especially in 1980) darker note, kudos to Irvin Kershner.
What I’ve also noticed about this while re-watching it, is how in here we establish more who these characters are – Han doesn’t look like he’s changed as he wants to leave (again), but upon hearing Luke hasn’t returned, he risks his life to find him and get him to safety. Leia embraced the leading role, where she has the wits to back it up and struggles with her feelings towards Han. And Luke struggles with fulfilling his destiny and becoming a Jedi, as he’s worried about his friends getting killed, but at the same time realising what’s at stake if he doesn’t finish.
Empire Strikes Back is my favourite Star Wars movie, but it’s not by a mile by any means, as all three films from the original trilogy in my eyes are almost equal, and choosing the “best” ones from them is like choosing between Ferrari or Porsche. Either way, you’re going to ride a pretty great car. It’s splitting hears, looking for tiny details where it’s up to you which movie you gravitate towards more. I couldn’t fault you for choosing any of the other two movies for being your favourite Star Wars film.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
That’s all for this one? Which one is your favourite Star Wars movie? Let me know!
