jasonsutekh
SUTEKH07
A review blog where I discuss films and TV shows that I am watching, discussing their good and bad points, my opinion, any patterns that I notice or similarities to other films/shows, etc. He/Him
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The Mangler (1995)
A policeman and his friend discover a piece of industrial laundry equipment may be possessed by a demon and the corrupt townspeople are seeking to feed it.
Much of the drama was held up by the cast; none of the actors let it down but the protagonist and antagonist are both notable figures in horror as well as being suited to the roles. Some attempt at lore is made, just enough to feel like it’s going somewhere. It was unusual in that the most dangerous aspects were mostly stationary.
Easily the weakest part of the film was the volume mixing as the dialogue goes incredibly quiet during some scenes and then will return to normal in the next or transition into a loud noise at normal volume. We don’t get a great look at the main monster, possibly because the CGI was limited at the time but it felt like it was leading to a reveal.
The premise was fairly simple but didn’t shy away from darker imagery that gave the threat gravitas. The effects also worked pretty well for most of it, in particular the gore which was amusingly ghastly in places and there was just enough breaks between squirtings to maintain it as an engaging feature.
Towards the end there’s an attempt at a finale, although the exact rules of the Big Bad are left vague so in the colclusion when things escalate in a way that broadly increases the threat but isn’t clear, it’s hard to distinguish just how much danger the characters are in or what chance there is of stopping it.
4/10 -It’s below average, but only just!-
-The photographer and mortician are played by the same actor, one role in prosthetic make-up.
-The front of the Mangler machine bares the number 6, under the name “Hadley Watson”, both words have 6 letters, making three 6s.
-The banner on the gates says “labor will set you free”, the same was written on the gates of Auschwitz.
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Justice League (2017) and Snyder Cut (2021)
Batman attempts to construct a team of heroes to stop a villain called Steppenwolf from collecting powerful boxes which, when combined, can destroy the world.
Each character got a little development, much more so in the Snyder cut, though it didn’t help that the theatrical version predated most of the solo movies so the background was vague at the time. The dialogue was interesting at times and it was good to see some conflict in the team even if it wasn’t major. Flash was rather a funny character and easily one of the most likable so hopefully he’ll get some more screen time or a solo film.
The narrative was pretty basic with an archetypal villain without much history apart from doing obvious villain things. The content was mostly action which is to be expected when going straight into a cross-over film this early in a branch of the franchise, especially since there are so many other branches that it’s not clear which ones are linked to this one. Overall the pacing wasn’t really up to Marvel standards which took things slower in completing their team.
The film leaves itself open to sequels which is good because some of the main characters need some development in their own films, including any villains that might be introduced. The longer version leaves it open for sequels that look to be much more interesting than what has happened so far and they’re already recasting so it probably won’t come to pass. There needs to be more detail put into the motivations of some characters besides them just wanting to do god things and spin-off films could give them that chance.
The style was expectedly dark and broody which is good in some respects but actually makes it difficult to see what’s going on at times because it’s literally too dark, Snyder cut cleans that up a bit. The aesthetics are typical and hopefully they’ll mix it up in future films otherwise it’s going to look like a franchise remaking the same film with few individual qualities. There was also too much CGI which varied in its quality, the inconsistencies making it all the more obvious how much is being used.
5/10 -Can’t find a better example of average-
-The spatial tunnels are referred to as “Boom Tubes”, named after the noise they make when establishing.
-This is said to be the 5th film in the DC extended universe (DCEU), being preceded by Man of Steel (2013), BvS: Dawn of Justice (2016), Suicide Squad (2016), and Wonder Woman (2017).
-Batman’s back story is based on the murder of his parents but he’s the only one of the six heroes whose parents aren’t referenced in the film.
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Brightburn (2019)
A young boy realises he’s not like the other people he knows but may be an alien and he may not have the responsibility for his new powers.
The premise was engaging and the influences were clear enough from the outset, although limiting it to the origin story seperated it from the main text a bit. After seeing so many hero origin stories squeezed into a few minutes of flashback every decade is wearing and most people have probably wondered what could have happened if things were a little more realistic considering a small child was given unimaginable power.
Since the basic story is fairly obvious from the first few scenes and most people have imagined it so consistently, it’s fairly obvious where the entire plot will lead, including the small twists towards the ending. The twist of good to bad also leaves the story necessarily depressing, since all hero movies end in sudden defeat of evil, it can’t happen this time by curcumstance of story structure.
Surprisingly for a niché ‘what if’ sort of film, it had pretty respectable effects and were comparable enough to the normal superhero movies. The changes sparked other ideas like what else could be different if things had progressed to the rest of the timeline, would Lex Luthor (or the equivalent) have been a hero for opposing him?
A few aspects were pushed a little too much, like the symbol recurring so consitently and the book of journals was an overplayed psychopath trait which couldn’t have made it more obvious, epsecially since the kid had tried to hide other evidence. There didn’t seem to be enough differences that would have caused the divergence from regular story, like the parents were incompetent but not actually bad.
4/10 -It’s below average, but only just!-
-The symbol referred to as two ‘b’s back-to-back is the same symbol as the logo for the Berserk manga, or the mark of sacrifice.
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Bob le Flambeur (Bob the Gambler) (1956)
A desperate gambler assembles a team to rob the safe of a casino.
Most heist movies use the same kinds of gimmicks, including the escalation that turns the straight theft into a more violent crime but this one changes in a fairly natural way and it also helps that it takes place before the main crime; most of the subject matter is the build-up, planning stages, and practical complications.
Although the gang members are mostly easy to differentiate and are different styles of criminal, none of them are especially deep characters and most of the personality traits are superficial quirks. Bob is easily the main focus and therefore gets the most development but minor characters like the police are hard to even tell apart.
Several of the messages are variable in their judgement of crime as a whole as even some of the gang characters scron certain kinds of illegal activity like murder and pimping. The gang members had a little variety which made the complexity of the crims feel somewhat realistic and allowed for more audience investment.
It’s amusing that the narrative begins and ends from roughly the same action but considering the cost of the gambling vice as well as the reckless plan to fix it, the finale leaves the main character who doubles as the antagonist with a one-liner and a circumstantial punishment which sort of condones him.
2/10 -It’s not THE worst, that’s something else. But…-
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Scooby-Doo and Batman: The Brave and the Bold (2018)
The gang is recruited to join a group of detectives which includes Batman.
There were a few different elements to the plot including a couple of red herrings and an exploration of the group dynamics. It was amusing to see how the gang reacted to the various heroes and villains and the styles of animation for each respective fandom blended well enough that they fitted together.
They really milked the alliteration to the point where some sentences were nonsense. They never got round to addressing the fact that the gang don’t usually believe in ghosts but were now surrounded by beings overtly supernatural that Daphne implies that they’ve known about for some time.
Some of the fight scenes were more effective than the mystery; the traditional chase sequence was given far more variety by the diverse characters. A few locations around Gotham were explored, although the asylum was a little underwhelming once inside and the villains didn’t seem as powered up as usual.
The mystery was hindered mainly because a few aspects were somewhat obvious like the method and who was really behind it, but the subterfuge with the Question was also hinted at a little too much. Few of the characters could be used to their full potential since there were so many of them, even the Joker got mixed into the melee of additional villains.
4/10 -It’s below average, but only just!-
#Film#Review#Scooby-Doo and Batman#Scooby-Doo#Batman#The Brave and the Bold#Scooby-Doo and Batman The Brave and the Bold#2018#Fantasy#Comedy#JasonSutekh
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30 Days of Night: Dark Days (2010)
The survivor of the Alaska massacre is now hunting the remaining vampires but they have a new plan.
Most of the effects are of a consisntent standard, particulalrly the sun destroying ones and some aspects add to the lore slightly. It is at least a variation of the original story rather than re-using the original concept, but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t adopt those of other vampiret series or film sagas.
Immediately it was apparent that this sequel lacked the experimentalism and originality of the first film, most notably because it adopts the setting of most modern vampire films which is the big city. Whereas the predecessor was isolated and vulnerable because of the extended darkness, this is on the same playing field as most vampire fiction, including foreknowedge.
The lead character is engaging enough and there’s a little variety in the band of helpers, especially in terms of back story, however none of them are conclusively proven and it never becomes practically relevant. At least the film refrained from doing the typical deciet good-guy technique where a friend turns out to be working for the villains.
Several of the death scenes were over far too fast. The good vampire was a major player but got killed off in a cursory fashion. In the same way the only black character gets destroyed fairly early on and even though the main villain is a woman, she gets a big build-up and then the reveal is underwhelming and her death is quicker than the detective who is a minor character.
3/10 -This one’s bad but it’s got some good in it, just there-
-There were originally flares in the script but were replaced by glow sticks for saftety reasons.
-Much of the fake blood in the drinking scenes was a mix of grapefruit juice and cranberry juice.
-Lillith was a character based on the wife of Vlad the Impaler who bathed in the blood of young women in an attempt to absorb their youth.
#Film#Review#30 Days of Night#30 Days of Night 2#30 Days of Night Dark Days#Dark Days#Vampires#Supernatural#Horror#JasonSutekh#2010
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Ordet (The Word) (1955)
A religious community with feuding factions is beset with life events like love, birth, and deaths; some wmay lose their faith and others may find it anew.
The main character is the grandfather and we follow him pretty closely but not exclusively, occasionally leaving him to focus on other members of his family. However the main focus is always the religious debate which creates parallels between the different belief systems and discusses the interpretations and practises of faith.
Although it’s clearly an attempt to portray religion as intrinsically good but represented by followers in misguided ways, there are still many aspects that depict it as predatory. The only true believers are the mentally afflicted or the young and naive. Even when someone has just died, the most devout follower comes in the guise of saviour and miracle worker but mostly assigns blame and demands worship to make good on his promise.
Some of the parallels between religious insitutions and family relationships are interesting, like demanding children marry approved partners in order to maintain the ideals of their elders. The cinematography is fairly simple, depicting the homes more as theatre than film and adding some realism to what will turn out to be a supernatural story.
One hopes that the message isn’t one intended to convert the viewer to religion since the techniques would be considered underhanded and manipulative in that regard. Even the ending is one that is lessa miracle than a necessity of narrative structure since the plot and subtext only works if it leads to the resurrection foregrounded throughout.
3/10 -This one’s bad but it’s got some good in it, just there-
-It has been mentioned by the director of The Exorcist (1973) that this was the main influence, despite not containing a possession.
-The film only has 3 close-up shots.
-The audio of the birth scene was taken from the actual labor of the actress playing Inger.
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The Twilight Zone (1959-64)
An anthology of odd and supernatural events that explore science fiction and the human psyche.
Some of the best episodes are the ones that either start unusually and then end with a twist or go straight for comedy. In particular there’s a memorable christmas episode and several that work as monster-of-the-week stories. There’s also a pattern of time travel stories or aliens of a different scale to us which are often at least entertaining if not unpredictable.
After so many episodes they eventually get to be a little repetitive or just swap out a few details and leave more or less the same narrative. Due to the wide variety in quality from so many stand-alone stories, there are also necessarily a fair few that aren’t terribly satisfying or attempt to end openly but don’t seem to go far.
Part of the enjoyment of some of the older stories is that they’ve been adapted or parodied in various other shows or movies so they seem familiar as well as still holding up as good plots. There’s some interesting subtext in a few as well that still works well and applies just as much in modern times.
The fourth season is perhaps the weakest because they change the format to make the episodes an hour long and some of them just don’t stretch the pace well enough to cope with it. It works far better as concise ideas, short enough that different contributors can have fun developing ideas and they’re more likely to take chances on new things.
5/10 -Can’t find a better example of average-
-The iconic line “submitted for your approval” is remembered despite being used only 3 times, however “In just a moment” was used 25 times.
-Almost all the men in the first season are described as being 36 years old.
-Rod Serling wrote 92 of the 156 episodes himself.
#Film#Review#The Twilight Zone#1959-64#Supernatural#Science Fiction#Sci Fi#Fantasy#Horror#Rod Serling#JasonSutekh
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Will Shakespeare (1978)
A chronicle of some of the notable times and events of Shakespeare’s life.
Firstly, the narrative was very focused on the personal life of the title figure, with various but only passing mentions of the plays he’s famous for. There were several reflections of the various plots of the play, certain elements like royalty, betrayal, and a key handkerchief. It’s also interesting to see how events in real life may have influenced the plays.
Although it appears to be a based on fairly accurate, if controversial, evidence of Shakespeare’s personal life, there are a few elements that appear to be built up and then glanced over. Most notably is the death of his son whom goes from ill to dead in a brief transition. Other notable instances are his daughters who barely get a mention, let alone screen time.
Most of the actors are effective, particularly Tim Curry who gives a nuanced and believable performance including some decent gradual ageing, losing none of the character as the story progresses, and the main love interest, the Earl of Southampton which leads to the other notable thing about this biopic, that it doesn’t shy away from the homosexual implications which is surprising for a production of the time.
Naturally the plot has to remain as true to recorded reality as possible but that still leaves some aspects somewhat dissatisfying. Namely that some characters get away with deception and others don’t get the cumupence that they deserve. The queen also only gets a brief interlude of relevance.
6/10 -Just a cut above average-
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Troll (1986) and Troll 2 (1990)
Supernatural beings seek to invade the human world for power or food.
The first one has its moments. The basic plot is certainly enjoyable enough and even the child actors are amusing enough to pull the drama through. It explores some unusual supernatural lore which mixes up some traditional stories into a low-budget adventure and even comes up with a way to vary the setting despite technically all being in an apartment block.
As sequels go this one went out of the way to turn downhill. Not only is is entirely unconnected but they use the title “troll 2” then call all the antagonists goblins. The acting is appalling almost to the point of surrealism and the narrative is loose but even what there is of it makes little sense; the antagonists hate meat but turn people into vegetables as though regular vegetables don’t exist.
Most of the effects hold up pretty well, even the tacky CGI parts in the first one have a kind of charm, as though fairy magic would look a little odd anyway. The acting in the second one makes the child acting look rather competent, mainly because at least the young kid has a reason to speak like a child.
For some reason everyone in the sequel is given a really red complexion which seems like it’s going to be relevant to the plot but it’s just another bizarrely unplanned element. Neither plot really touch on cultural troll lores so it basically ends up as a rough semi-fairytale, cheap horror flick that almost has a conclusion each time.
Troll: 3/10 -This one’s bad but it’s got some good in it, just there-
Troll 2: 2/10 -It’s not THE worst, that’s something else. But…-
-The fish ghoulie from Ghoulies (1984) can briefly be seen in Eunice’s portrait in the first film.
-The witch’s home in the second film was in fact a church which later burned down.
-The lead character in the original is named Harry Potter, a young boy suddenly finding himself in a world of witches, trolls, and magic. The film was released 11 years before the novels featuring the popular character name would be released.
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Tomb Raider (2018)
Lara Croft searches for clues to her father’s disappearance by following the last expedition he went on.
Differing from previous film installments of the franchise, this one focuses on the origin story of the iconic character which makes for a fairly straightforward background narrative and therefore allows it to proceed with speed enough. Some typical emotional motivation is also concisely imparted and provides layers to the ultimate goal.
Most of the opening leading up to the search for the father seems somewhat irrelevant. The bicycle chase and kickboxing were visually interesting enough to be entertaining but seemed like what character context we got could have been applied with more reason and subtlety.
The story really gets going properly when they actually find the tomb and it’s hard to route for the protagonists for the first half mainly because the audience are invested more in the mystery. The conclusion was unusual enough to feel satisfying and it clearly outlines how what clues were given add up.
There’s sort of a revelation that leaves the whole business on a cliffhanger, presumably to be handled in a sequel, but feels a little late and vague for any real set-up. Being such early days for he character means her fighting skill isn’t at the level of the films or games which is odd considering how robust her reaction times are to environmental dangers, often exceeding those all around her.
4/10 -It’s below average, but only just!-
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The Marsh (2006)
A young woman must solve a supernatural mystery relating to the home she is using for her holiday and the marsh surrounding it.
All of the technical aspects hold up well enough for the horror elements to be entertaining. The setting is useful at night and marshes are a staple of the genre, the acting is all competent and gives some credence to the important back story, and the effects were varied enough to give the threat some range.
There weren’t, however, many aspects to elevate the movie from basic horror tropes and jump scares. The power the spirits have changes wildly, one scene they’re able to alter multiple people’s perceptions entirely or take full control of a room to commit wholesale murder, then they’re easy to escape from by running into the next room.
Some parts of the mystery are interesting to see unfold and there’s a little twist near the end. The action is consistent and there’s little messing around trying to convince people from the town since the ghosts are powerful enough to affect so much and don’t seem to be trying to hide themselves.
The overall execution of the mystery isn’t entirely satisfying, for one thing we have to be told basically all of it before we really know which ghost to route for and lending suspicion to some adult characters very early softened the impact of the ending. The scarecrow seemed like it was going to have a much larger part to play considering how much emphasis it got early on.
3/10 -This one’s bad but it’s got some good in it, just there-
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The Hitcher (2007)
A hitchhiker attacks and torments a couple travelling across the country.
Although sharing similar aspects with the original, it’s a small mercy that they didn’t push too hard for having the police suspect them of the crime constantly, it seemed to vary in degrees. Some of the acting was fairly decent even though psychopathy and fear don’t necessarily allow for a great deal of range in this context.
One of the main differences between this and the original was that the gender of the protagonist was switched which eliminated all of the gay subtext which left this movie basically the same but one level more shallow. The acting also appeared to have less nuance all round, it worked as a basic horror film but wasn’t anything notable.
The police had a somewhat large role which created some variety and allowed us to venture from the perspective of just the two main couple. A few opportunities to fight back were presented even though they predictably come to naught but the journey is enjoyable on a superficial level and the highway feels isolated even while progress is still being made.
It was expected for the role of the lead policeman to be more significant or at least more impressive to the narrative. The climax for the couple was very similar to the original but again underwhelming considering the predecessor was almost different for having a final guy rather than girl, whereas this version is just a return to type.
3/10 -This one’s bad but it’s got some good in it, just there-
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Get Out (2017)
A man goes to visit his girlfriend’s family but it’s difficult to overlook the racist implications of their behaviour.
This is part of a new wave of films that look at racial prejudice and also carries similar subtext and cinematography to others in recent years thanks to re-use of sound designers, directors, and actors. Overall it’s fairly effective, in particular the balance between tension and comedy that compliment each other in the right ways.
Although the journey was enjoyable and there were technical elements that maintained an entertaining aesthetic, the narrative itself was fairly predictable, including the small revelations, a few of which didn’t make too much sense. It was implied that the brother may have had a larger role but little came from it.
Several of the actors were recognisable but the lead actor in particular was fairly strong and it’ll be interesting to see him go on to do other more serious roles with his believable leaning towards natural comedy. The setting was a useful one, familiar from home invasion horror, specifically because it’s a large environment that still feels isolated.
The science fiction element was somewhat bizarre and felt almost like a parody of the genre because it was kept so vague and was part of the story almost incidentally. In some ways it was the reverse of the similar film Us (2019) in which we’re led to suspect supernatural horror when it’s really a classic sci-fi trope; in this one it all seems like basic small town-style horror but then the science magic is tagged on at the end.
6/10 -Just a cut above average-
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Boat Trip (2002)
Two straight men are tricked into taking a gay cruise but still may find the women of their dreams.
There were a few parodies of the traditional stereotypes that were both expressed and then challenged by being given actual back stories which helped separate the minor characters from offensive archetypes. Several actors were recognisable and most gave a fairly good performance, lending the comedy enough credence to get through.
All the same, there were still many irritating stereotypes, several of them seemed on the wrong side of derogatory. Even in the style of a farce, the set-up for being sent on the wrong cruise was a little too unreal and it might have been kinder to the message of the story if it hadn’t been a gay couple that embarked them on it.
Some of the puns were amusing enough but were still a little on the nose even if the genre refused to allow for the most obvious to go ignored and instead be explicitly mentioned. If one ignores the opening statements and takes the later messages at face value then it’s passable as an early thousands progressive film but there’s still a lot to be desired and it will age worse as time goes on.
The worst part of the story was easily the time jump which initially felt like an extended dream sequence of ‘the bad future’ which could have been. The explanation for how the characters get back together was especially tenuous and in one case reduced it back to the superficial lust comedy.
3/10 -This one’s bad but it’s got some good in it, just there-
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Army of the Dead (2021) and Army of Thieves (2021)
A heist is pulled in the height of a zombie apocalypse to crack the most difficult safes ever created.
Some of the most interesting parts that separated it from the traditional zombie film was blending it with a heist movie and expanding on the classic undead lore by including the nephilim hierarchy, especially the alpha zombie. The cast for both films is strong enough for the roles and a few parts stand out. The effects of the locks and tumblers rotating was aesthetically pleasing and gave us an idea of the progress of the safe cracking but it’d probably have been more useful to someone who has any idea how it actually works.
The main flaw is that we’re thrown straight into the fray of post-apocalyse so there’s little time to get to know the important characters and it’s the back stories that make the threat significant but having each one a potential traitor or threat means that each character is superficially valuable but also potentially disposable.
They definitely chose the strongest character for the sequel as he had the most interesting role as well as being the most sympathetic. It’s also useful to keep us on his side that he’s not complicit in any really bad crimes, just stealing from rich people and this is enforced by them using tranquillisers on the guards rather than killing for the job.
Both films would have worked far better in reverse order, then the zombie one would have been a climactic finale rather than the whole build-up and context being a prequel. The zombie dreams in Thieves was basically just to tie the movies together but ultimately reminded the audience of how irrelevant the two films really are.
Army of the Dead: 4/10 -It’s below average, but only just!-
Army of Thieves: 5/10 -Can’t find a better example of average-
-A truck can be seen while entering Vegas with the “Wayne” branding, referencing the director’s work on DC films.
-The old lady shouting at Sebastian is yelling in German when he zones out but Czech when he returns concentration, foreshadowing his later journey to Prague.
#Film#Review#Army of the Dead#Army of Thieves#2021#Science Fiction#Sci Fi#Horror#Heist#Crime#JasonSutekh
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1984 (1984)
A couple defy their dystopian rulers by falling in love.
There were deep levels to the performance that the superficial elements don’t account for; the actors were clearly informed about the subject matter they were depicting. It was also effective to see the actors bodily involved with the performance, John Hurt was able to sell the torture scenes very well due to this.
It’s exceedingly difficult to make a dystopian film without either selling out on the message or it being pervadingly bleak, in this case it was the latter which makes it heavy to watch at times and somewhat predictable but still with the subtextual integrity intact so some entertainment can be made drawing parallels to modern life and the political climate.
An interesting element was that it’s never made really clear which nation or society the party is meant to represent. There are high rise buildings like America, ornate halls like central Europe, MK-Ultra style interrogation rooms, and even at one point what appeared to be Battersea Power Station. This vagueness keeps the focus on authoritarianism rather than blaming one place or country.
The main character is out link to this oppressive world but he wanders through it as though it’s all new to him, despite the strength of the brainwashing being that nobody inside knows any different. That nobody is to be trusted is a present notion for the diagetic world, which makes the protagonist seem too naive by trusting nearly everyone he meets that isn’t on a big screen.
5/10 -Can’t find a better example of average-
-Only the central character, Winston Smith, gets a first and second name.
-One of the first scenes shows a clock with 24 marks instead of 12, referencing the opening of the book which involves the clocks striking 13.
-While the film was released in the same year as the title, the book was released in a year that’s an anagram of the title: 1948.
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