Community Reviews

This is a cross post of @syberia/trigger-a-korean-drama-that-critiques-the-right-to-bear-arms by @syberia.

A review of a Korean drama that deals with a controversial topic.

Source

Loki season one was a total ride, took me years to watch this one even though back then everyone was loosing their minds for it but its just that Loki is not my type of character, I went in thinking we would just get more of the same Loki doing his usual tricks and causing trouble but instead Marvel decided to get weird with it and I mean weird AF because this TVA concept has so much in it with how time works and how time ends that there were some confusing moments as to how each action had a consequence in the time line and how they kept it under control, its crazy stuff. The whole TVA thing with Owen Wilson showing up as this agent who loves jet skis but has never actually been on one was genius casting, Wilson just brings this laid back energy that plays off Tom Hiddleston so well and their back and fourth was probably my favorite part of the show as it kepts me watching one episode after another to see what would happen next. The bureaucracy angle was funny as hell too because you got these people monitoring all of time and space but they are stuck in this 1970s office setup with what looks like terrible technology and mountains of paperwork, it should not work but it does and I think thats what makes the TVA so interesting as a concept. Then they throw in Sylvie and at first I was like okay another Loki but she turned out to be way more interesting than just a female version of him, she had her own story and her own motivations that actualy made sense when you think about what the TVA did to her as a kid. The romance between them was strange technically they are the same person but also not really and Marvel took a risk there because if they are the same person how could they fall in love? but at the same time it makes perfect sense since Loki is that narcissist so why not. The whole thing with the TVA being this massive time cop organization but then finding out its run by variants who had their memory wiped was such a good twist, you start the show thinking these are the good guys keeping everything in check but then you realize they are just pawns too and that changes everything. Mobius finding out he was a jet ski salesman or whatever his real life was before the TVA grabbed him and erased everything hit different, Owen Wilson played that confusion and betrayal so well that you actually felt it. Miss Minutes was hilarious and annoying at the same time like this cartoon character thats supposed to be helpful but really just reminds you that your stuck in this beurocratic nightmare where nobody knows whats realy going on, at times the TVA felt like a loop you never escaping from.

• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9140554/
• Platform: Disney+

Rottentomatoes Rating

Source Jonathan Majors showing up as He Who Remains in that finale was insane, he completely stole the show from everyone else and he just sits there in his castle at the end of time eating an apple and explain the entire history of the multiverse like its no big deal, I hate Marvel had to dump his character because it has so much story and I really hope in the future they can pick up on the Kang story. He tells Loki and Sylvie that there used to be infinite timelines and infinite versions of himself and some of those versions started a war that almost destroyed everything so he ended it by creating the TVA and the sacred timeline to keep it all under control. The whole speech about how he is actually the good guy compared to his other variants was very fishy to me, you could tell he very Thanos like by telling the truth and this dude has been running things for so long that he is tired and just wants out but he cant leave without making sure someone takes over who wont let the bad versions of himself come back to cause chaos. Loki starts to see that maybe killing this guy is not the answer because it could unleash something way worse and thats such a huge moment for his character, hes finally thinking about consequences instead of just his own ambitions and what he wants. Sylvie on the other hand is so focused on revenge that she cant see past it and shes spent her whole life running from the TVA so now shes finally got the person responsible for all her pain right in front of her and she wants him dead no matter what but her motivations are way more complicated as she essentially embrace chaos with pure liberty, by killing Kang there wont be more TVA keeping everything under check meaning everyone on every other reality can do as they want without the TVA pruning people. The fight between Loki and Sylvie was very intense because their motivations were clear as contradictory, shes not wrong for wanting revenge and he is not wrong neither for wanting to think things through, aside form the fact he had feelings for her. That moment when Sylvie kisses him and then pushes him through that portal so she can kill Kang, that was a brutal moment, you see Loki's face just fall apart because he realizes shes not gonna listen to him no matter what he says. Then He Who Remains dies saying he will see them soon and the timeline just explodes into infinite branchs and thats the "here they come" moment as the multiverse war was expected, so I wonder if this was actually part of what was written already even though there is a moment where Kang said he doesnt know whats going to happen next anymore like that moment was the end of time.

Source

Source

The relationship between Loki and Sylvie was one of those things that could have gone completely wrong but somehow worked because both actors sold it so hard and made you believe it. At first it feels weird watching Loki fall for basically himself in female form but then you start to see that Sylvie is not just a female Loki at all, she was someone who had a completely different life because the TVA took everything from her when she was just a kid and shes been surviving on her own ever since without anyone to help her. She taught herself magic and how to enchant people by jumping into their minds and she used those skills to hunt down TVA agents one by one trying to find whoever was in charge of the whole operation, those episodes hunting Sylvie down gave both so much context. Loki by comparison had a cushy life in Asgard even if he always felt like an outsider so when these two meet its like two sides of the same coin finally seeing each other for the first time. The romance builds slow over episode three and four and that train scene where they are talking about their pasts and Loki gets drunk and starts singing was so good, it showed him letting his guard down for maybe the first time ever in his life. You could tell Sylvie was not used to trusting anyone and Loki was not used to caring about anyone besides himself so watching them figure out how to work together and then develop actual feelings was cool to see play out. The nexus event that happens when they are about to die on Lamentis actually backs up how their conection was strong enough to break through even an apocalypse which should be imposible but it happend anyway and thats when the TVA realizes they are in trouble.

Source

Source The way the show handled the whole time travel and multiverse stuff was confusing at first but once you understand the rules it makes sense in a weird way I guess. The sacred timeline is not really one timeline its more like infinite timelines that all follow the same path so they dont create branchs that lead to another multiverse war like what happened before or at least thats how I understand it because Im sure there is probably more than one way to look at it. Anytime someone does something that creates a branch the TVA shows up and erases it with those reset charges and they take the person who caused it and either erase them too or turn them into TVA workers with their memories wiped so they dont even know who they realy are. Loki finds out that everyone at the TVA used to be normal people living their lives until they did something that made a branch and then they got grabbed and brainwashed into thinking the time keepers created them when that was all a lie because how if they prune all this people only the ones who are Loki are at the end of time in that void?. Mobius was probably some guy who loved jet skis, Ravonna was a school teacher and Hunter B 15 was just living her life until the TVA decided she was a problem and took her away from everything. The fact that these people are hunting down other variants and erasing them without knowing they are variants themselves is such a dark concept, they are completely convinced they are doing the right thing because thats what they were programed to believe by whoever runs the TVA. When Sylvie starts enchanting TVA agents and showing them their real memories it breaks them and you see B 15 realize she had a whole life before this and it was stolen from her without her knowing. Mobius finding out the truth about himself and then getting pruned by Ravonna was one of the saddest moments in the show, Owen Wilson played that so well and you felt every bit of it. But then we find out that getting pruned does not kill you it just sends you to the void at the end of time where this giant cloud monster named Alioth eats everything that gets sent there. The whole episode with all the different Loki variants hiding out in the void was hilarious like you got old Loki who survived by faking his death and hiding, kid Loki who killed Thor, boastful Loki who lies about everything and alligator Loki who is just an alligator for some reason that nobody realy explains.

Its the ending with Kang that get things to another level of craziness and confusion, the hole Sylvie and Kang fight was never going to happen as he just wanted to either die or be replace, although he knew he wouldnt abandon the chair. That whole scene had me on edge because you could see both sides of the argument, Sylvie wanted revenge for her stolen childhood and everything the TVA took from her and Loki was finally thinking about consequences for once instead of just acting on impulse like he always does throughout his entire life. The fact that her choice unleashed the multiverse and probably doomed everything was such an awesome moment to develop the entire Multiverse saga but we already know how Marvel fuck it up. The statue of Kang at the end instead of the time keepers was such a perfect way to show that everything has changed now and the TVA is under the control of one of those evil variants that He Who Remains warned them about so things are gonna get way worse before they get better if they ever do. Marvel really swung for the fences with this show and even though some episodes were slower than others the overall story was incredible and took risks that actually paid off in the end. Tom Hiddleston proved how he is the real live Loki just like Hugh Jackman is the real life Wolverine and the supporting cast all brought their A game especially Owen Wilson who needs to be in more Marvel stuff going forward because he was perfect in this role, I would love to see him next to Deadpool. The cliffhanger ending leaves so many questions about what happens next like is Mobius gonna remember Loki eventually, what is Sylvie gonna do now that shes alone at the end of time and how bad are things gonna get now that the multiverse is unleashed and all these Kang variants are free to do whatever they want across infinite timelines. Loki season one gets a solid 8 out of 10 from me, it was weird and ambitious and took risks that paid off even when the pacing was not perfect in every episode but overall it was one of the best Marvel Tv shows we have gotten ever.

#skiptvads, #inleo, #hive, #loki, #marvel, #mcu, #tva, #sylvie, #mobius, #multiverse, #disney, #hiddleston, #kang, #timeline, #variants, #jetski, #nexus, #alioth, #timekeepers, #revenge, #owen, #majors, #romance, #enchantment, #pruned, #apocalypse, #betrayal, #finale

Posted Using INLEO

Source

Couple of days ago I decided to give "HIM (2025)" a shot even though I knew it was "bad" although didnt know how much bad it was and man this thing had so much going for it but just could not stick the landing on anything, this movie should have been way better than it ended up being and I am disappointed, as expected; because the pieces were all there for something really good but it just never comes together the way it should. Marlon Wayans is seriously good here, this takes me back to when he blew everyone away in "Requiem for a Dream" but this might be the case that his time is over? I mean this was 25 years ago, overall I know he could do intense serious roles instead of just comedy and even though the movie drags like hell he shows he still got it going from some serious moments, to hilarious, to others where he just looks insane. He plays this retired quarterback Isaiah White who brings in this young kid Cameron played by Tyriq Withers to train at his crazy isolated compound in the middle of nowhere and right from the start you can tell something is off about the whole setup, the visuals are wild, the editing keeps things interesting and Withers does a great job selling the fact that he is this good guy slowly getting corrupted by being there and dealing with all this weird shit happening around him.

• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt20990442/

Rottentomatoes Rating

Source Problem is the movie feels boring even though a lot of crazy stuff is happening on screen which is weird to say but that is exactly how it felt watching it, like the individual scenes look cool and the performances are solid but everything together just drags and never builds any real momentum that makes you care about whats going on. It has all these Whiplash vibes with the intense mentor thing where Isaiah is pushing Cameron to his limits and beyond, testing him physically and mentally to see if he has what it takes to be the next great quarterback but it does not go as deep as it thinks it does with any of the themes its trying to tackle about sacrifice and greatness and what it costs to be the best at something. There are these Mad Max looking fans painted up at one point screaming and acting like total psychos and I was like what the hell am I watching right now, like the movie throws all this imagery at you without ever really committing to what its trying to say, is it horror, is it sports drama, is it some kind of cult thing, it wants to be all of it but ends up not being good at any of it really.

Source

Source By the time we get to day three or four of the training I was ready for it to be over because the pacing is just off, each day is suppose to escalate the tension and the weirdness but instead it just feels repetitive, more injections, more hallucinations, more Isaiah being creepy and intense, more Cameron looking confused and uncomfortable but still going along with everything for reasons that never feel believable enough. The movie is only 96 minutes long but feels way longer than that mainly because it never lands in anything it just keep putting out cool but weird scenes but they are all distant from each other like nothing follows a sequence, scenes dont flow into each other, transitions are choppy and by the time the ending comes it just falls apart completely with weird choices and dialogue that feels out of place and unsatisfying. You find out there is this whole cult thing going on with the team owners and they have been grooming Cameron since he was a kid and his dad was in on it and they probably killed his dad to push him into football out of guilt, Im not sure about it but this is just probably me trying the movie means something else and looking under the rocks if there is something really special about it, some hidden message or something, Cameron just goes on a killing spree murdering everyone and kicking heads across the field and its suppose to be this big cathartic moment but it just feels empty and unearned because the movie never did the work to make you invested enough in any of this.

Source

Source The final scene is decent I guess with Cameron refusing to sign the contract and choosing to walk away from the whole demonic ritual power passing thing but by then it was too late to save anything because the entire second half of the movie already lost me completely and I just wanted it to end, it all felt force like they wanted to force the audience to swallow all that gore as a shocking event to cover up for an entire boring movie. The movie had so much potential and I say this because the entire production from camera angles, stages, the field itself like the camp it all look awesome and believable like something similar could really exist in the middle of the desert, the idea of a sports horror movie about the cult of football and how players are exploited and groomed and pushed to destroy there bodys and minds for entertainment, thats actually a really good idea that could have been executed in a way more interesting way than what we got here, in the middle of all this I would have expect they go to manipulate him by using drugs, I thought this was going to be the case when they start japping him with injections. Instead we get a bunch of trippy editing, some gross out moments with blood and injections, fans that look like zombies, and a third act that tries to be shocking but just comes across as silly and over the top without any real substance behind it, like they wanted to make a statement about toxic masculinity and the pressures athletes face but they never commit to exploring those ideas in any meaningful way.

If you want to see Wayans doing his thing in a serious role then sure go ahead and check it out because he really is the best part of this whole mess but this could have been so much better with a tighter script and a director who knew what kind of movie they actually wanted to make. There is one thing I forgot to mention and is how he constantly kept saying he was going to watch some tape, in football that means watching past games to study and it would have been awesome if it meant something else, say how he kept watching tapes and at the same time getting brain watch something like that. The performances are good, the visuals are cool for the most part, the sound too and camera work are solid but none of that matters when the story is this weak and predictable and boring even after all the craziness being thrown at you. I wanted to like this way more than I did but it just never comes together and by the end I was just releaved it was over and ready to move on to something else, maybe a 6 out of 10 and thats being generous because Wayans and Withers are actually trying there best with what they were given to work with here.

#skiptvads, #inleo, #hive, #him, #horror, #football, #marlon, #wayans, #sports, #quarterback, #review, #jordan, #peele, #training, #cult, #thriller, #disappointing, #boring, #performances, #visuals, #pacing, #predictable, #sacrifice, #greatness, #ritual, #athletes, #exploitation, #2025

Posted Using INLEO

Source

The Lost Bus came out a couple of weeks ago on Apple TV and this thing is a serious throwback to when disaster movies actually meant something like you really care for what this man is doing and wtf is going to happen with everyone on the bus, specially after the California fire this year, we are talking early 2010s type stuff where everything felt real and had actual meaning, none of that CGI nonsense that makes you feel like you are watching a video game instead of a movie. Matthew McConaughey plays Kevin McCay who is basically a total mess of a bus driver, like he is just bad at life in general, bad dad, bad at his job, moved back to his hometown to take care of his aging mother kind of guy and then one day he gets tasked with moving about 22 kids from one school to another because a wildfire is coming through Paradise California. Problem is by the time he realizes the whole damn town needs evacuating his radio is dead, phone is useless, and when he gets to the drop off school its literally on fire and everyone already left, so now this guy has to save these kids when its already way too late, talk about being put in a completely shit situation that nobody asked for.

• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21103218/
• Platform: AppleTV+

Rottentomatoes Rating

Source The movie does a great job on so many levels even when it probably should not work at all, it gets going fast like the wildfire breaks out maybe 15 minutes in and from there it does not stop for the next hour and forty five minutes. America Ferrera plays Mary Ludwig the teacher and both characters are kind of basic felt basic since there is not much context to them or back story so she is just a teacher, in the case of Kevin needs redemption for being a crap dad and she never left her small town and now might die there but the movie does not need deep character development when the action is this damn good and intense, its like the classic situation that the walls are getting closer and closer, in this case its fire and the environment does the trick for the movie, just need to let the actors go run wild. Paul Greengrass who directed this also did stuff like Captain Phillips and United 93 so he knows how to make you feel like you are about to have a heart attack just watching people try to survive impossible situations, Im a sucker for camera angles and on this movie we got all that shaky and documentary style which some people hate but I think it works perfect for this type of movie because it makes everything feel more real and in your face for the most part of the movie even when they trying to take a breath, you wont feel the actual fire but for sure at some point feel completely wiped out and drained like you are actually watching through a window whats happening to this people, theres this one part where they are surrounded by fire and Mary tells Kevin maybe we should let the kids go to sleep that way if the fire comes they wont feel it or know it, that scene is absolutely stupid but what else can they do, you feel destroyed emotional and I was not expecting to feel that much from a disaster movie but here we are, who in their right mind going to try to put 22 kids to sleep and tell me one of those kids who will go to sleep in such situation but its ok, for some audience that might be heartbreaking.

Source

Source From what I look up online find out that its based on the real 2018 Camp Fire in California that killed 85 people and knowing that makes it hit way different, again considering the wild fire in 2025 where for the first time I saw on TV hell itself like way way different than if this was just some made up Hollywood bullshit, the movie uses real cell phone footage from people who were actually escaping Paradise that day and those moments are the most powerful parts of the whole thing because you know those are real people going through real terror. The cast is pretty solid overall even though some of the side characters dont get much to do, McConaughey and Ferrera are carrying this thing on their backs and they do a damn good job of it, McConaughey especially takes it to a higher level with material that could have been pretty generic in someone else hands but he makes you believe this guy is just trying to do the right thing even though lifes been kicking his ass for years, after all he is Mr. Interstellar. Ferrera does not get as much to work with but shes good at showing this teacher who stayed in Paradise her whole life thinking it was safe and now shes about to die there with a bus full of kids she barely knows, theres some real emotion there even if the script does not give her a ton of depth to work with most of the time.

Source

Source Obviously the movie is not perfect and has some issues that bothered me so here some of them to make things fair, the first maybe 15 or 20 minutes tries to set up McConaugheys whole life situation with his ex wife Linda who keeps calling him while hes driving a school bus full of kids to argue about going to Colorado on vacation, you feel how its draining him and how annoying she is considering everything going on around with the fire. We also get scenes with his son who hates him and his mother stirring up drama and it all feels a little melodramatic but what is a movie that doesnt make you feel some way or another and I know the movie is just probably trying to make you care about Kevin's life but all that other stuff about his wife and kid just felt like filler that could have been cut down to maybe 5 minutes instead of 20. Theres also this weird scene where looters with guns try to hijack the school bus which felt completely out of place and kind of stupid, I was like damn is this "Speed"?, like I think this armed looters are totally out of place during the Camp Fire based on everything going on, it felt like they added that just to create more tension but it was unnecessary because the fire itself is scary enough without adding fake drama on top of it.

The other problem is the movie keeps cutting back to the fire command center where the Cali Fire battalion chief and his team are trying to figure out what to do and all those scenes are pretty flat and boring but I guess those are necessary too because someone is suppose to be getting things under control, although they all felt flat with zero connection to Kevin and the kids on the bus, those scenes needed way more emotional weight because these are people watching a whole town burn down and potentially hundreds of people dying but instead it just feels like checking boxes to make sure things are done by the book. I wish they had spent more time making those command center scenes actualy mean something instead of just being filler between the bus action sequences. Now the kids on the bus, you going to take one for the team and they just kids, these 22 children are basically just props in the background who occasionally say stuff like I dont want to die but we never get to know any of them as actual characters but then again its 22 kids so not enough time and space to know them all and build up their characters so it was expected they just the cargo.

But even with all those complaints I still think The Lost Bus is worth watching especially if you like disaster movies that feel grounded in reality, today I just put a thread about how much I wanted to watch San Andreas again but I guess because I still had this movie in the back of my head, the fire action sequences are intense and well done, the effects are mostly practical and look great and when the movie focuses on the bus trying to escape through burning roads and falling trees its just awesome scenes that had me actually caring for everything with the bus and the kids inside. That final sequence where they have to make a break for it through the fire is one of the best action scenes I have seen in a chaos situation that involve some kind of natural disaster or in this case a fire like this without making it look cartoonish or over the top, it feels real and terrifying which is exactly what it should feel like. McConaughey and Ferrera are both excellent even when the script lets Ferrera down, although I think McConaughey did a great job over all as he got most of the meat on the dialogues, I kept thinking about all the people who actually went through this and didnt make it out and that made the whole experience feel heavier, after this movie I honestly want to watch one based on the recent California fire. The movie could have been tighter and cut out a lot of the unnecessary family drama and given us more time with the actual fire escape, probably know the kids characters a way more, but what we got is still pretty solid overall and I think people will dig it if they go in knowing its more of a straightforward survival story than some deep character study, for me this is a solid 8 out of 10 for sure, not perfect but damn good at what its trying to do and way better than I was expecting based on the trailers.

#skiptvads, #inleo, #hive, #disaster, #wildfire, #survival, #mcconaughey, #ferrera, #greengrass, #campfire, #california, #paradise, #teacher, #driver, #rescue, #children, #emergency, #evacuation, #tension, #thriller, #action, #emotional, #drama, #realstory, #intense, #appletv, #movie, #review

Posted Using INLEO

Source

Blue Beetle dropped in 2023 and honestly I wasn't expecting this movie to see the light of day after all the drama that went down with DC's constant reboots and James Gunn taking over so it took me a while to watch any DC content and after watching now Superman (2025) and Peacemaker decided to catch up and this piece was missing for me, so I finally got to watch it after hearing mixed reactions from everyone but for the most part good reactions. This movie had me feeling kinda conflicted because on one hand it delivers some fun moments and great family touching scenes but on the other hand it feels like every other superhero origin story we have seen a million times before just with a Latino twist that works better than I thought it would. Xolo Maridueña really carries this thing on his shoulders and you can tell he put in serious work to make Jaime Reyes feel like a real person rather than just another random superhero, the dude has charisma and makes even the most cliche moments ok ish to watch. The whole thing about his family being his strength instead of his weakness is what makes this movie stand out, instead of keeping his powers secret like every other superhero, his entire family gets involved and becomes part of the adventure which is similar to the theme on Thunderbolts (2025), even if it leads to some pretty ridiculous moments. After I kept watching I started to care about the Reyes family and not only him, from the supportive father to the badass grandmother who apparently has a violent past, these characters feel both real and ridiculous but in the good way even when the script gets a bit over the top with the cultural references and Spanish dialogue that sometimes feels forced but I can understand this were dark times for DC.

• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9362930/
• Platform: AppleTV+

Rottentomatoes Rating

Source

The story itself is pretty straightforward and nothing amazing, you actually might think ok they took the Spider Man story like and mix it with another bug? yup kinda, Jaime comes home from college to find his family about to lose their house, gets a job through Jenny Kord who steals this alien scarab from her aunt Victoria and boom he becomes Blue Beetle when the scarab chooses him as its host, Im 110% sure that in the comics this has to be more complex than that although thats the basics, I dont want to make it feel like Im trying to push it under the rug but it aint complicated at all. Victoria Kord played by Susan Sarandon is supposed to be this menacing villain but she comes across more like a generic corporate bad guy who wants to weaponize alien technology, nothing we haven't seen before in a dozen other movies and her motivations never really feel threatening enough but so far until 2025 I havent found a Thanos in the DCU, at least not yet. The whole thing with Carapax the indestructible man being her personal weapon has some interesting backstory about trauma but it gets rushed through with very little content and we dont have time to process the deeper meaning of what they are trying to say about imperialism and military intervention and a bunch of other themes that get lost within the movie. What works better is the relationship between Jaime and the scarab itself, the way they communicate and learn to work together feels like proper character build up and the visual effects when he transforms are impressive for a movie that didn't have a massive budget. The action scenes are nothing spectacular but just seen Xolo into the Blue Beetle learning his powers is fun enough with all the comedy in between, there is some good practical suit work mixed with CGI that look convincing and the final battle in the family backyard has this weird charm where everyone gets involved in fighting off the bad guys, again like Thunderbolts (2025).

Source

Source The best parts of the movie either when having fun, supporting Jaime and fighting the bad guys, thats the core of this movie since its not about the born superhero but the one turn into with his family next to him always so supportive, like when Jaime's father gives him advice about finding his path in life or when the grandmother reveals she had a some what violent past mixed with her been a revolutionary. These scenes have heart and emotion that uplift the more generic superhero stuff and you can tell the script put real thought into making the Latino culture feel respectful rather than stereotypical, something I was afraid from the start, even if they do lean a bit heavy on the family theme at times. The romance between Jaime and Jenny works well enough without taking over the entire movie, they have decent chemistry and the fact that she is Ted Kord's daughter adds some interesting complexity to their relationship that could pay off in future movies if they ever get made but I think this character will turn into the Moon Knight of the DCU, everyone love it but forgotten since it came up during very dark times. George Lopez as Uncle Rudy is kinda of a breather for the movie without being annoying every time he is on scene breaks the ice and his character gets some very emotional moments when he talks about protecting the family and dealing with immigration that honestly is one of the most hilarious aspects of the movie. The whole cast seems to be having fun with their roles and even when the script gets cheesy or the situations become ridiculous, everyone commits to selling the emotion and relationships that make you care about what happens to these people.

Source

Source

The costume design for Blue Beetle looks great and feels like it could exist in the same universe as other DC heroes without looking cheap or fake, I think would mix just great with the recent Superman (2025) movie as its very comic like and not so dark as The Batman. For the time this movie came out there is a nice visual style that feels different from other DC movies without being too flashy or distracting from the story plus the music and how the sound effects were use hits the right notes when it needs to, with superhero music with some Latino influences that make it feel more connected with the rest of the movie, there is also the sound effects during the transformation scenes that really sells the alien technology aspect of the scarab. I also find interesting how the story kinda sells a one and done situation, the movie doesn't try to set up a bunch of sequels or connect to a larger universe, it tells its own complete story while leaving room for more adventures but for the most part it does bring enough closure so at the end you are satisfied with how much the story advance. The hole thing about developing a universe where there are all this superheroes is that at some time they can collaborate with each other but Blue Beetle does great at been just a one guy army as he also has his family to back him up.

After sitting with it for a while, I think this is a perfectly decent superhero movie that succeeds more on charm and family theme than on innovation or action, it knows exactly what it wants to be with a clear vision even if it doesn't try to be the best DCU movie, its like the director knew by the time Superhero exhaustion was a thing and didnt want to go over the top with it, just try to hit that sweet spot of not been just more of the same and not trying to break the mold. The family aspects and latino representation feel original and important, Xolo Maridueña proves he can carry a big budget movie and there are enough fun and emotional moments to make it worth watching even if you are getting tired of origin stories, this is a movie you can watch at any time but not one you would want to watch over and over, you might not fall in love with the character either since there is more than just Bluee Beetle on this movie. My biggest complaints are that the villains feel underdeveloped and the plot hits all the expected boxes without many surprises and thats the thing the movie doesnt take any risks but honestly those problems during the movie are not that heavy as the characters and relationships work well enough. This feels like the kind of movie that will do just great in streaming platforms, especially among latino viewers who have been waiting to see themselves represented in superhero movies in a respectful and authentic way. I would definitely watch a sequel if they make one and I hope James Gunn finds a spot to incorporate this version of Blue Beetle into whatever he is planning for the future of DC movies or tv series just as how most of the Superman (2025) cast had appearances on Peacemaker, Im probably giving it a high score but I really enjoy and have fun watching aside from the Superhero stuff.

#skiptvads, #inleo, #hive, #bluebeetle, #xolo, #maridueña, #dc, #superhero, #latino, #family, #origin, #scarab, #jaime, #reyes, #kord, #susan, #sarandon, #villain, #carapax, #jenny, #george, #lopez, #mexican, #culture, #action, #review, #movie, #2023

Posted Using INLEO

Source

Alright its like there is not much to watch at the moment and Afterburn came out as another meh movie but with a few cool scenes its just that too much meh than anything else and its basically what you expect when Dave Batista and Samuel L Jackson show up on a poster together, lots of action, some explosions and a story that asks you not to think too hard about whats happening. A solar flare wipes out half the planet, borders dont exist anymore and now Batista plays Jake who has to grab the Mona Lisa for Jackson who somehow became the King of England, governments collapsed after the disaster, warlords run Europe now and Jake used to be a treasure hunter before everything went to hell. Now he still does the same job but the world looks like a cheaper version of Mad Max without the cool factor. Director JJ Perry did Day Shift and Killers Game before this, he worked as a stunt coordinator on John Wick so I would say the guy knows how to shoot action sequence but one thing is knowing stunts another is been a great director and this movie is proof of that. The action is fine, theres decent hand to hand combat, Jake fights through a train full of bad guys and that part actually works. You see blood when someone gets stabbed or shot witch is always good in my book. Theres a car chase with a tank and some explosions, Perry keeps the action in frame this time witch is better than some of his other work. Still the guy needs way more practice because scenes that should have tension just fall flat.

• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1210027/

Rottentomatoes Rating

Source

The plot falls apart pretty quick, Jake gets hired by King August played by Samuel Jackson and yes we know Jackson is that kind of actor that brings hype into a movie but I feel like that is all he was to this production as he is barely here. Maybe fifteen or twenty minuets at most, he probably shot his scenes in a week and went home, just a quick buck and this is not his fault, probably easy money for him. August wants Jake to go to France and bring back the Mona Lisa from some secret storage place in paper looks and sounds easy except France got destroyed by the solar flares and now General Volk controls everything, a crazy warlord loves chess and killing people. The movie tries hard to make Volk scary but it dont work because we never understand what he wants, I truly doubt people would get mad for spoilers but the Mona Lisa isnt actually a painting, its a nuclear bomb with the Mona Lisa painted on it. August already has the real one so the whole mission was about getting this third atomic bomb from World War Two. Dont ask how that makes sense because the movie never explains why August wants it but the twist is supposed to be surprising but it just feels lazy, they could have done something interesting with this idea but instead they treat it like its no big deal.

Source

Source Batista does his thing were he punches people and tries to be funny but it feels forced, this is not Drax from Guardians with a great cast and script he can work out so good, instead this time he is alone and the script doesnt do him any favors, like they told him to act like do Drax again but he dont have that charm to pull it off. I have been a fan since the first time I saw him on the big screen because as a kid I saw him start at the WWE so I was some what familiar with him but he is not the type of actor that can take a meh script and carry the movie over his shoulders to make it something memorable, he is just not that guy. Here he is the lead and you see all his weak spots, his delivery is flat most of the time, the jokes dont land and the serious moments feel wooden. Olga Kurylenko plays Drea, she is part of some rebel group fighting Volk and helps Jake get to the facility. Shes way better than Batista in almost every scene and I wish she had more to do, her fight scenes are solid but most of the time she is just driving or shooting at stuff. The movie tries to set up romance between them but there is zero chemistry, they had this scene where they talk by a fire about paper boats and then suddenly at the end theyre in love sailing away together. It feels rushed like the writer checked a box on a list, we needed more time with these two together to believe they care about each other.

Source

Source The biggest problem is nothing feels like it matters, Jake dont have any real backstory except he wants a boat. We dont know if he had a family or what his life was before the world ended and without that context his journey feels empty, we are just watching a guy punch his way through obstacles, at the same time next to him Drea has even less going on, we never find out why she is in the rebellion or what she lost. The world building is lazy too, they say half the planet got destroyed but then you see people drinking cold beers at the end in a bar with electricity, I kept thinking were did those beers come from, did someone find a warehouse full of beer six years after everything went to shit. The logic falls apart if you think about it, like there is this part were Jake swims through a flooded tunnel and he is about to drown but then he just breaks a gate with his last bit of strength, like wtf is this the dopamine rush of "I dont want to die?" why didnt he try that earlier, stuff like this happens all the time were characters make dumb choices just to create fake drama.

The production design is decent for the type of Mad Max like end of the world scenes, they built cool sets and the world looks real enough. The train part at the end is probably the best, Jake fights through different cars taking out soldiers and it feels like there is stakes for a few minutes, doing what Bautista the wrester do the best, although he is not that big anymore, dont know why so many actors are falling into this wild transformations, must be a trend. Drea sets bombs on a bridge to blow up the train and there is a moment you think Jake might not make it. The final fight between Jake and Volk is fine, nothing special, Perry knows how to shoot it even if the moves arent anything were gonna remember. Volk falls and dies when the bridge explodes and Jake escapes with the device for the bomb its just that simple, its not me trying to short shift things. The ending tries to be happy were Jake gets his boat and sails off with Drea but it feels empty because of the little context and character build up as we spent two hours with these people and dont know much about them. Afterburn is not the worst action movie I have seen this year but its not good either. Its one of those movies you watch on a lazy day when there is nothing else after you have gone through all the channels in cable more than twice and you final stop at the one playing Afterburn. If your a huge Batista fan maybe you will like it but even then there are better movies were he does better, actually my favorite movie from him is "Knock at the Cabin (2023)" a movie that didnt do that great but its his part and the psychology behind it. I give Afterburn a 6 out of 10, its got some decent action but the story is predictable, characters are flat and the whole thing feels like a missed chance.

#skiptvads, #inleo, #hive, #afterburn, #batista, #action, #apocalypse, #review, #jackson, #movie, #2025, #disaster, #wasteland, #thriller, #nuclear, #france, #bomb, #king, #soldier, #fight, #train, #explosion, #survival, #warlord, #treasure, #mission, #hunter, #post

Posted Using INLEO

Source

Primitive War (2025) came out and I was not so much interested on it, look like Avatar hit Jurasic Park and ratings on RTT are very far apart but over all not a bad bad movie, its a cool one time watch although there are certain things I didnt like that much, people online are loosing their minds over it, I get both sides here because this thing is weird as hell to judge. You got soldiers in Vietnam fighting dinosaurs with a budget under 10 million bucks, that sounds awesome on paper, also this thing is over two hours you start noticing problems that no amount of dinosaur carnage can fix. The CGI looks damn good for what they spent no question about that, some of those sequences are impressive and put bigger budget stuff to shame but then you got these actors who look like they have no idea there are five dinosaurs in the room with them. The script feels clunky too, characters dropping words trying to sound tough but coming off goofy instead, what really bugs me is how everyone keeps saying this is showing Jurassic Park how its done when half the thing copies the same exact structure same rules T Rex is king raptors hunt in packs all that stuff. Its not breaking new ground its just doing the same thing with more blood and a Vietnam setting, props to the team for pulling off so much action on such little money thats seriously impressive work right there but at the end of the day this feels more like a tech demo than an actual thing you care about cool to look at but empty underneath. The whole setup is Vulture Squad gets sent into this isolated jungle valley to find a missing Green Beret platoon and boom dinosaurs everywhere, sounds simple enough and honestly thats probably the smartest thing this does because when you try to add more layers it just falls appart.

• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt18312380/

Rottentomatoes Rating

Source The dinosaurs themselves are probably the best part of this whole experience aside from the little suspense before people gets wipe by one of them, this creatures are the star of the show and the team seem to put a lot of heart to make them look like so even with some of the very dark scenes, classic cover up for monsters on movies. You got Utah Raptors with feathers which looks incredible, T Rexes with lips that look ridiculouss to be honest not the old school Jurassic Park look that we are more use to, even a Spinosaurus in the water doing its thing tearing people appart. One raptor gets a knife stuck in its eye early on and that becomes like this whole personal vendetta thing where it keeps hunting the soldiers throughout the entire movie, its actually kind of smart because it gives you this one dinosaur to latch onto as a villan instead of just random monsters attacking giving it more character than any other Dinasour in any Jurasic Park movie. The sound is also really solid, they didnt go with the classic Jurassic Park raptor screams which is a risk but I think it works, these things sound more like giant birds mixed with some other loud predator and it feels some what original even if it takes a minute to get used to. The T Rex family storyline was good too, you got the mom and dad Rex plus their baby and by the end when they are all roaring together after the base explodes you actually feel something for them which is insane to say about giant murder lizards, this movie really put time into giving them weight and some what drama for this monsters. That final battle sequence is one of the best aspects of the movie as it should since it doesnt have much to show up for, were talking tanks helicopters hundreds of raptors two full grown T Rexes just going ham on everything, its the kind of spectacle you want from a dinosaur war thing and Sparke delivers on that front no doubt. The problem is getting to that point takes way too long and the journey there is bumpier than it should be, when the dinosaurs are on screen doing their thing this works when theyre not it drags.

Source

Source

The military stuff is where things get tricky because on one hand they clearly put effort into making it authentic, Captain Dale Dye who did Platoon and Saving Private Ryan came in as a consultant, Im no gun expert but to me all the weapons look like period accurate M16s, M203s for some of the ones I recognize, all that Vietnam hardware, the uniforms look vintage too, they even got like six Huey helicopters for this Apocalypse Now style sequence that looks expensive as hell. But just because something looks authentic doesnt mean it feels right for the story youre trying to tell, Ryan Kwanten plays the lead very convincing like hes in an actual war drama and it clashes hard with the ridiculousness of dinosaurs eating people. Jeremy Piven brings some energy to his role as the colonel but even he cant save scenes where the tone is all over the place, one minute were doing Saving Private Ryan grit the next were watching a raptor with a knife in its eye get revenge and those two things dont mix so well. Anthony Gruber adds a bit of humor here and there which helps but its not enough, I would say the movie needed way more moments where characters acknowledge how insane their situation is instead everyone just acts like fighting dinosaurs in Vietnam is a normal. The pacing in the first hour is rough too, they spend so much time at the base trying to develop all these characters but none of it sticks because what makes the movie interesting is out there, this is not a close environment movie and by the time people start dying you dont really care who makes it out which is a problem.

Source

Source The subplots are completely unnecessary and it makes me kinda mad because they are too predictable too or ridiculous, for example this whole thing about Russians using collider technology that accidentally brought the dinosaurs over from another time or dimension or whatever, its mentioned but never really explained in a way that makes sense so youre just left going okay I guess thats a thing. Then you got this Vietnamese woman who is helping the Russians and theres supposed to be this whole backstory but it gets like two lines of dialogue and then nothing, later on one of the soldiers has a flashback showing he killed her family on a previous mission and she stabs him but it feels random because we didnt get enough setup for it to matter. The movie wants to have these deeper themes about war and revenge and government coverups but it doesnt decide to pick one and go for it. That ending where the president gets briefed about dinosaurs in southeast Asia and how it might affect the war could have been a cool sequel tease but it comes off more like oh yeah we should probably mention that, same with the credits sequence showing dinosaurs edited into real Vietnam footage which is a neat idea but feels tacked on, actually I look up for this and it seems there is a version of the movie where this was omitted, not sure about it though. Luke Sparke directed and supervised the visual effects which is insane, he also had to do with writing and some other aspects, almost too much to handle for a single guy and you gotta respect the hustle but maybe having one or two other people handling some of that would have helped smooth out these story issues. When you are doing everything yourself its easy to lose perspective on what works and what doesnt, sometimes you need someone to step in and say hey this subplot isnt working lets cut it or this character needs more development before we kill them off.

At the end of the day Primitive War is a mixed bag that leans more towards disappointment and it wouldnt be strange if there are a lot of paid votes to rank the movie higher and even though I really wanted to love it, the dinosaurs look great the action is solid when it happens and you can tell everyone involved worked their asses off to make this thing happen on basically no money, its the kind of movie you can watch clips about but just that because you know how draggy it can turn in. For sure it has good intentions and impressive visuals but they dont make up for a weak script, uneven tone and characters you never get connected or root for, for the most of the part I kept rooting for the dinosaurs actually, its like watching a really expensive animatronics demo; not sure if thats the accurate word, like back in the day of good old Jurassic Park where all the pieces are there but nobody figured out how to make them fit together into something that feels complete. The final thirty minutes are the best part of the movie, once the T Rexes show up and start wrecking that base with tanks and helicopters everywhere its everything you want from this concept but getting there requires sitting through an hour and half of stuff that ranges from okay to straight up boring. People online saying this puts Jurassic Park to shame are out of their minds, this doesnt come close to that level because you need characters, people to give a shit about before you start feeding them to dinosaurs, Primitive War forgets that part and just assumes spectacle is enough. If they make a sequel and Luke Sparke gets a bigger budget plus someone to help tighten up the writing it could be something special, theres clearly talent here and passion for the material but this first one just doesnt stick the landing. I would give it maybe a 7 out of 10, worth watching if you are into dinosaur or just want to see some crazy action but dont go in expecting anything close to the classics, its a fun messy experiment that shows potential without fully delivering on it and sometimes thats the most frustrating kind of thing to watch because you can see what it could have been.

#skiptvads, #inleo, #hive, #primitive, #war, #dinosaurs, #vietnam, #movie, #raptors, #trex, #soldiers, #action, #jurassic, #indie, #budget, #military, #feathers, #spinosaurus, #helicopters, #tanks, #combat, #jungle, #sequel, #collider, #russian, #realistic, #violence, #spectacle

Posted Using INLEO

Source

Dangerous Animals came out on 2025 and probably became one of my favorite shark movie that I actually give a damn about because honestly there is that stiga to Jaws where the shark is always the bad guy of the movie although here we got a hybrid, most shark movies bore me or feel way too fake but this one hit diferent, because as it starts to unfold you start to realize that this isnt even really about the sharks at all, its about Jai Courtney playing this absolutely insane serial killer named Tucker who runs one of those shark tour boats in Australia where he lowers people in cages to see the sharks up close, except Tucker uses the sharks as his weapon to kill people and records everything on VHS tapes like some twisted collector keeping trophys of his victims. The hook alone had me interested right from the trailer so I knew this was worth waiting for and Im glad I went in without watching only the first official trailer and not much context, sometimes its hard because you basically have to be dodging content online because discovering how messed up Tucker really is made the experiance so much better, this guy dangles victims over shark infested water while their loved ones watch them get torn apart and films the whole damn thing. Sean Byrne directed this and hes the same guy who made 'The Loved Ones" and "The Devils Candy", the first one I havent seen but did enjoy "The Devils Candy" so I had some faith going in that he would deliver something entertaining and he absolutely did. Jai Courtney is a good actor although we havent seen him doing a movie like this one in a wile or at least in one that he is one of the main protagonist and not just support actor, he probably deserve better roles, ones that let him do much more but this role as Tucker might be the best work Ive seen from him ever, he completly owns every scene hes in and makes Tucker feel terrifying, menacing, but also weirdly fun to watch in that villain way where you cant look away.

• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt32299316/
• Platform: PRIME VIDEO

Rottentomatoes Rating

Source

The story starts with Tucker taking this couple out on his boat for a shark tour and just in a couple minutes you get the first peak behind the courtin as he stabs the boyfriend in the neck and throws him to the sharks while keeping the girlfriend with him in the boar, thats how this movie basically goes from 0 to 100 real quick, what kind of sick bastard Tucker is and it sets the tone perfectly putting any kind of character build up necessary aside. Then we meet Zephyr played by Hassie Harrison who is this American surfer traveling around Australia in her van looking for good waves, shes got this loner vibe and seems like someone who keeps moving to avoid getting too close to anyone so my first thoughts were, who broke her?. She meets this guy Moses at night when his moms car needs a jump start and they end up having a one night stand, I guess thats what loner travelers do? look too cliche to be honest but if you go with it seem to really click together even though Zephyr ghosts him the next morning because commitment isnt her thing. She heads to the beach super early before sunrise to surf at a spot Moses recomended and realizes she forgot this key tool she needs for her surfboard, she sees Tuckers truck parked and goes looking for help when Tucker comes out of nowhere without shoes, this guy is creepy AF, he had to be hiding something all looking back because he was probably dumping a body or something. He gives her the key and drives off but then comes back and captures her, just like that shes chained up in the bottom of his boat with another woman named Heather who he had captured earlier. The whole setup happens so fast that it keeps the momentum going and doesnt waste time with unnecessary build up, by the time were twenty minutes in weve already got our main drama / kidnap and I was like wtf, if I try to pull this it would never happen so easy in a million years, this guy.

Source

Source Moses turns out to be way more dedicated than most one night stands would be because when he finds Zephyrs van still parked at the beach with her phone inside he knows somethings wrong and goes to the police, they dont take him seriously at first because he doesnt even know her last name but he keeps looking and eventually finds her surfboard washed up on shore. He ends up finding security camera footage from the beach that shows Tuckers truck pulling in around the same time Zephyr disapeared, he tracks down Tuckers business address and breaks into the boat while Tucker is out buying a new video camera because Zephyr had thrown his old one in the ocean, this Moses guy is a keeper and Zephyr a fool but I get it, the movie is design for things to go easy on both sides, bad things go really bad so tension always stay at higher and higher levels. The way Moses figures all this out feels a bit too easy and convienent, like the police couldnt do any of this but a random guy cracks the case in a few hours, but honestly I didnt care that much because it moves the story forward and gets us to the good stuff, I honestly never felt like the movie was dragging. Once Moses breaks in and finds Zephyr things go to hell real quick because Tucker comes back and now hes got both of them trapped, then comes in this cat and mouse game where Zephyr keeps almost escaping but Tucker catches her again and again this is the part that throws me off like are you that bad at escaping and are you that bad at keeping her under control??, and when Zephyr hits him with a frying pan I fkn laugh thinking this is just too clasic, stabs him, sets his boat on fire and none of it seems to slow him down much, Tucker just keeps trucking. Theres this one brutal scene where Zephyr bites off her own thumb to get out of the handcuffs because breaking it wasnt enough, that shit was intense and showed how far shes willing to go to survive, Hassie Harrison plays Zephyr as this total badass who refuses to go down without a serious fight and I really liked her performence even though she doesnt quit hit that emotional expresion, its like she had the same face on every tense scene.

Source

Source

I thought were were going to get a lot of shark action throughout the movie but I think is smart to keep it low key because when the sharks do show up it actually matters and feels tense, Tucker straps people into this harness and slowly lowers them into the water after throwing food around to attract sharks. Most of the time you only see the fin circling and imagination kicks in and classic Jaws memories take care of the rest, its way more efectiv than showing CGI sharks constantly because the fear comes from not knowing exactly where they are or how close, just like Jaws did it back in the day. The CGI they do use looks pretty convincing most of the time, theres defintely some computer effects mixed with real shark footage but they hide it well enough that it doesnt pull you out of the movie. Tucker has this whole philosophy about being like an apex predator and compares Zephyr to a marlin because shes such a challange to catch, he tells this story about how fishermen prize marlins because they fight so hard to escape and that gets a bit tiresome by the third time he brings it up. The ending goes a bit overboard with fake endings where it feels like the movies wrapping up but then keeps going, this happens like three or four times and it does make the ending feel longer than it needs to be. Eventually Zephyr gets dropped in the water and this great white shark shows up, the movie makes it seem like the shark spares her because Tucker had stabbed it earlier so now it wants revenge on him which feels like a stretch but whatever. Zephyr gets back on the boat and shoots Tucker with a harpoon into the water where the great white immediatly kills him, that final shot of Tucker getting eaten looked a bit rough CGI wise compared to the rest of the movie probably because they want it to look savage and agressive enough.

My biggest complaint is that I wanted way more gore, its a shark movie with a serial killer using this predators as his tools with the perfect place to disapear his victims so use the damn thing, like we get some blood here and there but for a movie about people getting fed to sharks I expected more brutal shots and that classic sound when people are about to drawn like taking in more water than breathing. The romance between Zephyr and Moses also felt rushed, like they had one good night together and suddenly hes risking his life to find her when most people would just assume she ghosted them and move on, the movie needed to give them more chemistry or more time together to make his dedication feel earned. Tucker keeps all these VHS tapes of his kills with pieces of victims hair attached to the cases and that was a nice creepy touch, you see hes got dozens of them so this guys been doing this for years without getting caught. Later on after watching the movie I find out he soundtrack for the movie is by Michael Yazerki and it really stood out and nail it, it matches the tone shifts between fun and terrifying, such sweet spot and sometimes the music lets you know things are about to get dark before you even see it on screen. Overall I had a really good time with Dangerous Animals, its not perfect and the pacing issues came up but mostly towards the ending, after all that dopamine rush I guess writers had a hard time wraping things up and bring it down a bit but its easily one of the best shark movie that is not about sharks, the contradiction right there, besides Jaws and Deep Blue Sea. Jai Courtney completly surprised me with how good he is as this unhinged killer and I hope he gets more roles like this that let him do some entertaining stuff and more screen time. If you like serial killer movies or shark movies or just want to see something thats a bit different than the usual stuff, Dangerous Animals is worth checking out, Im giving it a solid 7 out of 10 for being way better than most shark movies.

#skiptvads, #inleo, #hive, #dangerous, #animals, #shark, #thriller, #courtney, #killer, #serial, #horror, #survival, #byrne, #harrison, #tucker, #zephyr, #australia, #revenge, #ocean, #predator, #chase, #escape, #violence, #suspense, #terror, #victim, #cage, #bloodshed

Posted Using INLEO

Cover image edited in canva; the image was taken from the following source

Source

This is a season that has seriously under perform, its not even close to Season 2 but I guess the cat is out of the bag, Daryl is with Carol and Laurent who was they kid they were once trying to safe is far away from danger so I guess it was hard to keep this show running at the same pace, not all episodes have been bad, at least this was fun as hell to watch, not gonna lie this show has been throwing so much variety at us that Im actually enjoying the ride, just enough to keep watching even tho nothing too crazy has happend yet but this episode really delivered on multiple fronts but its not the same anymore, after this three spin off are over they need to do some drastic changes if they want to keep pumping TWD content, for some everything died with the OG series but I have enjoy most of the spin off at some level, even Dead City. The thing is they split up Daryl and Carol again which is working so much better than earlier in the season when they were kinda stuck together doing not much, now we got two separate stories happening and both are actually interesting for once which is a nice change of pace from what we have been getting, its WOT all over all.

• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13062500/
• Platform: PRIME VIDEO

Rottentomatoes Rating

Source There is this woman called Paz, she absolutely killed it this episode, her fight scenes are badass and having her team up with Daryl for the whole thing was perfect they should have given her way more screen time from the start because her character brings so much energy to the table that was missing. The shootout scene in Barcelona was good yeah it was good, nothing crazy, it was tense, like usually in these shows nobody can hit shit but here people were actually landing their shots and dropping enemies left and right which made it feel way more real and tense, I was not expecting that level of action but they delivered big time. That moment with Daryl holding Justinas hand and refusing to let go even when it seemed impossible was pure Daryl Dixon this is exactly why people love him so much because he never gives up on saving people no matter what, how many times he told Caron no and then end up going after Justina LOL thats both hilarious and stupid, but at the same time in good old TWD fashion he didnt go for the thing that made the most sense like dude just shoot the driver and hijack the truck instead of trying to pick the lock while walkers are closing in on you but whatever I guess they needed the tension for next episode. The whole convoy ambush was giving me old Walking Dead when they usually get trapped and have to deal with humans, you got to fear those more than the zombies themself, something about being in a city with that many walkers is always what picks up the intensity of the scene, been surrounded without escape.

Source

Source

Back with Carol there is Roberto, annoying as fuck though he speaks his mind sure but damn he can be a pain in the ass sometimes curious to see what happens with him next episode because the kid got poisoned by Fede wich was messed up and the cat clue was a nice touch. The Antonio and Carol stuff was actually expected to have them kiss, it felt earned after all the buildup even tho I was not buying their chemistry at first but it grew on me throughout the episode also there is Valentina pushing Carol closer to the edge of tasting the "local wine", that flashback scene of Antonio with his wife dying and turning into a walker right there on camera while everything falls apart around them was beautifully done one of the best death scenes this show has pulled off in a while probably because it has so meaning to him and what his life turn to but what an idiot to hold it from Roberto for so long and let Fede bully him for it. The fact that it happened right when the outbreak started in Spain was a cool reveal even tho some people might think its unnecessary I thought it added context to the whole situation and showed us something we hadnt seen before wich was the beginning of everything in Barcelona, they mentioned Rick Grimes brother was there during the outbreak so were getting closer to that whole storyline even tho they refuse to actually say Ricks name which is still frustrating as hell.

Source

Source

Fede is still being shady and I cannot wait for him to get killed to beat up badly as he has been lying to everyone for years about the whole Alcazar situation and now hes trying to cover it up by literally poisoning a kid, like what kind of leader does that shit. Carol breaking into his place to steal medicine was a bold move and Im glad Fedes mother finally figured out what her son was doing because she gave Carol the antidote without hesitation once she understood but I think she did it because it was Roberto and not necessary because he understood or recognize Fede's reasons, that compass coming back into play was smart writing because it tied everything together and proved Roberto was telling the truth about finding Justina. The whole Salas Delmare situation is about to explode next episode because Antonio called out Fede in front of everybody and theres no way that ends well for him Im thinking hes gonna die saving Carol and Roberto which would suck and I think Daryl is the only that could safe him and is very far away in Barcelona, if they kill him off like they did Isabelle in my opinion is just lazy writing but then again this is not the OG TWD anymore, this spin off are probably whats last on the fuel talk, although I notice on IMDB there is a forth season and I think they should stop there.

Only one episode left for season 3 and I have no idea how they wrap all this up are we leaving Spain or staying for season 4 opener so many damn questions. The Daryl flashbacks with young Merl were honestly pointless and I dont understand why they keep showing them now after all these years like what does losing Isabelle have to do with his childhood trauma it feels like they dont know what to do with Daryl when Carol getting all the good scenes which is weird because usually its the other way around. That whole refugee camp with the girls who escaped Alcazar was a nice touch showing that not everyone in this world is a psychopath and some people are actually trying to help others survive, Lias group agreeing to help attack the convoy made sense once they realized killing the fake king of Spain would end the whole La Ofrenda system but the reasons and decision process felt stupid, honestly they should have stay put and just tell NO to Daryl. The river of walkers they had to cross was a cool visual even tho we have seen similar stuff before it still looked cool, this show knows how to do fight scenes and make them feel grounded unlike Dead City that is the other end of the rope going way over the top. Overall this episode was way better than I expected especially after a few weaker ones earlier in the season and Im a bit more excited for the finale now that we finally getting somewhere with killing The Alcazar wich is saying something because I was getting bored with the pacing before, they finaly gave us what we wanted with both Daryl and Carol doing interesting things separately instead of just standing around talking about nothing but I have to be honest and I doubt they could cram up all that content that is left on a single episode.

#skiptvads, #inleo, #hive, #walkingdead, #daryl, #carol, #paz, #barcelona, #justina, #antonio, #roberto, #fede, #alcazar, #zombies, #walkers, #convoy, #shootout, #flashback, #outbreak, #spain, #episode, #season, #review, #action, #betrayal, #poison, #rescue, #finale

Posted Using INLEO

Source

Black Rabbit landed on Netflix this year and I had no clue but as usually from been online seen reviews start to pop out I had to watch, there was too much noise around it but its not my type of release method since I prefer the more traditional one episode a week, from the jump it is all anxiety and raw family drama but A LOT of anxiety because this guys get in the worst problems you can imagine but honestly its some crazy brother love, it is like a fkn weeklong headache that never ends and seem thirsty for the worst problem possible you could imagine and everytime they kinda hitting rock bottom it just seems like they manage to come up with a crazier idea, one of those shows that keeps you on the edge and sometimes you kinda wish you could step out for air but then the next scene drags you right back in. The whole thing spins around two brothers in New York, Jake played by Jude Law, looking stressed like he is five bills behind on rent and Vince played by Jason Bateman, in full professional screw up mode, they run a restaurant called the Black Rabbit, sounds cool, looks cool but Trust me the only thing chill in there is the food and even that is usually surrounded by drama, booze, drugs and straight up chaos.

• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt23055142
• Platform: NETFLIX

Rottentomatoes Rating

Source So these brothers do have a history, supposed to be close, even used to be in a band together and now Jake tries so damn hard to keep things put together but when Vince stumbles back into his life, dragging debts, mob trouble and all types of bad luck, at first it even looks Jake is in rehabilitation but his drug is his brother and he just wants to stay away from him as far as possible but once after the first hit its over for him, it is like someone opened the door to every bit of trouble you can have in New York, all at once. Vince is the kind of guy you root for until he pisses it all away, cool guy, brilliant but in the very bad way, runs a scam, gets beat up, then falls under eight more problems before payday, I mean Jason Bateman does that broken willpower thing so well, you wonder if the guy even knows what peace feels like or if he even want it. Jake on the other hand, is kinda the glue, got the business, got a kid, tries to keep everybody happy but deep down he is just as lost, obsessed with keeping his brother safe, even if it costs him every damn thing he built, makes you want to shout “bro step off save yourself” but you know he wont.

Source

Source

Now the city itself is a character and I really like that, this is the ugliest, grimiest New York they could come up with, I am talking about sticky floors, never enough light and it all just looks like you can smell the old beer through the screen, specially when everyone is at the Black Rabbit, they nailed the vibe, after they start to tell and show others people experience in that restaurant the only good thing about it is the food because everything else is like opening a different door to hell every night with the worst possible outcome until they start getting very close to death itself. The Black Rabbit is like some twisted symbol, what started as a dream for these guys becomes a trouble magnet, one disaster after another, you wind up seeing these two just circle each other, each episode feeling heavier, more mistakes, more people getting hurt, more chances for everything to blow up, to be honest at times I had to pause and walk away, it got that thick. The show does not mess around with side stories much, lot of the supporting cast are just gas on the fire, everyone brings some extra trouble, Roxy the chef is tough as nails but no one listens to her, Estelle is there to mess with everybody’s head, then you got Wes, Tony and that sad line of investors and goons who would rather burn the place down than step foot in your living room, most of them give “bad news walking” vibes and it totally works. You want to see some of them lose and others just get a break, but the writers do not hand out wins for free, hell no, even the so called good guys got their own nasty backstory, every person you think is going to do the right thing finds a way to mess it up and the funniest part is that they all started together from the ground up, they had nothing and the Rabbit was a haunted house until the dream came true and everyone flourish together.

Source

Source

Probably the biggest gut punch is how the show leans into the dark side of family, you want to think Jake is holding it together for his people but dude keeps gambling with lives not just money and Vince always thinking he is one step away from fixing everything, always a step away from a clean start but always tripping right into another pile of crap. Now not everything is good but when you put in a balance is more good than bad but its like you swap the restaurant for a rundown car, you got the plot of a million dollar hustle gone wrong. Even worse is how they handle trauma, like who gets to forgive who and why, and no one ever comes out clean. The show drags you through dead ends, betrayals, ugly fights, messed up friendships and the kind of payback that ends up hurting more people than it helps, sometimes I wanted to smack both brothers for how damn blind they are. There some heavy stuff too, domestic stuff, stuff with the mob, drugs, even the way the show handles Anna and her story when she gets rapped and nobody knew about it, they did a good job at hidding it from the start, it is rough, not for the weak stomach and honestly it made me mad more than once seeing how little justice comes out by the end. Still you do get these crazy moments of humor from nowhere, like grown men getting chewed out in the kitchen or the chaos of a party where everyone is one drink away from trashing the place, the show has that odd mean streak that makes you laugh right before you get hit with another mess. It is not just “bad things happen,” it is the bad choices make everything worse and the world does not care if you are crying or winning, that is what Black Rabbit really says underneath the dirty dishes and empty bottles.

The ending is a very shocking one that I honeslty didnt expect, you got family dead, careers gone and the only people left are more broken than they started and they did such a great job at keeping in secret how it all started but the last two episodes put up like commercial breaks of all this in between all the chaos, Vince plan was not stick around for his lesson, takes the fast exit and Jake kind of floats back to bartending, which is pretty much his way of starting over on a very basic plan, AA for everyone, start over, maybe learn something this time, keep it simple and minimalism. As I mention the series drags hard sometimes but probably for the first half only until things start to get saucy specially after Vince loose AGAIN!!! more than he owe the mob, sometimes the pacing will bust your brain, a few storylines could have been tighter, but the acting is on point, the city feels like jail and the stress is real, no way could you call it a comfort binge but if you like your drama with a good push of “damn how could it go more wrong,” this is your kind of show. Solid 7.5/10 for me, a series that I would recommed to anyone.

#skiptvads, #inleo, #hive, #blackrabbit, #drama, #netflix, #nyc, #restaurant, #brothers, #jude, #bateman, #tension, #family, #crime, #anxiety, #pressure, #betrayal, #chaos, #tragedy, #addiction, #abuse, #suffering, #messy, #collapse, #regret, #loyalty, #revenge, #survival

Posted Using INLEO