This was a very long time ago when I watch it for the first time and I didnt much about movies or who the F was Christian Bale so my thoughts were around the line of well this is a fantasy movie about dragons lets see what new and what good can give well I can say that is not a bad movie, directed by Rob Bowman a director that didnt mess around with trying to make this some fairy tale fantasy instead he gave post apocalyptic future, saying future because the movie is from 2002, where dragons took seriously the job of erased all civilization as we know it, in addition is also explaining that dinosaurs were eliminated by dragons instead of the impact of an asteroid. At the moment you watch the movie you can realize that the budget was tight but even thought it got good actors like Christian Bale and Matthew McConaughey, Bale plays Quinn a leader to his community that is always trying to protect them and also is living with guilt from his past because he think that he was the reason why the first dragon that started all that destruction woke up and at the other side is McConaughey this wild military guy from Kentucky who shows up with tanks and helicopters wanting to take the fight directly to the dragons you probably think that he with his team are crazy for fighting dragons but they just want to bring peace and a new life to the world again

• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0253556/
• Platform: AppleTV+

Rottentomatoes Rating

To understand this movie is important to know how everything started, with this kid called Quinn who visits his mother in a mine where she worked, unfortunately that day everything will change the world and why? The reason is that they digging in the wrong place where a dragon was hibernating and at that moment it wokes up burnt everything and Quinn is the only survivor, now in the present he is the leader of a group of survivors living in a castle fortress in norther England and in a world where everything is grey where exist dragon patrolling in the sky hunting humans because now they are the most powerful creatures in the world, with that reality Quinn and his people developed prayers and routines to survive, they use birds as lookouts, they've rigged up water systems to fight fires, its like a medieval community with some modern tech thrown in, Im always thinking that in fact that will be a real future, on the other hand is Van Zan who appeared with his team of dragon hunters bringing military hardware and this philosophy that the only way to deal with the dragon problem is to fight back hard instead of just hiding, he let Quinn knows that they have killed 200 female dragons and now are hunting the male dragon because is the responsable of hatches the dragon eggs so the cycle never ends unfortunately this two men are so different that tension between them is so obvious Quinn with his survival spirit and Van Zan with his aggressive way of living his life, even though this is a movie where you can see that the budget was limited the way how is show this apocalyptic world seems real, the performance is good and the dragons well is not Games of Thrones so don´t expect perfection.

It is amazing when you can see two actors that do not overshadow each other but rather complement each other and manage to give us a good performance that is what Bale and McConaughey do here in Reign of Fire and I mention this because this two actors are in big movies and don´t hesitate to take a role in a minor production and give their 100%, also you can see in this movie other great actor which is Gerard Butler shows up as Quinn's friend Creedy and even though his role is smaller you can see that is giving everything in this role. The chemistry between all these actors makes the human relationships feel real even in the middle of all this dragon chaos, you care about what happens to them, they talk like people who are just trying to survive another day, all in this movie feels real because thats the way the actor manage to provide that message, thats when you realize that a movie is not great for the a big budget and all the CGI on it, a movie is good when it has a good dialogue, good direction, good production and a good cast and this movie is good for all that. The idea of a apocalyptic world but not for the climate change or a world war is fascinating bring a mythological creature to create all that chaos, horror and grief is something different not unique but different.

For the cast and direction they had it is a good movie but it doesn´t mean that is the best movie of all time because is not it has it error like some logic about the story with Van Zan, they come from America and arrived in London and you think how they manage to find fuel when in the world is difficult to plant a tree what a contradiction, they have a tank, an helicopter, motorcycle and you think wao how the cross the ocean, they needed a big ship to do so are more when they mention they have been hunting dragons all over the world, you think wao they probably they are using solar panels in the ship because the fuel is only for the other things but yo know it is a fantasy movie so just don´t think too much about it because at the end it doesn´t bothers me at all, the movie is what it is just for fun, it doesn´t pretende to go into our minds and make us beleive that it could be our future. Something that I really like was how old the dragons look, are not the best dragons that is saw in a movie or a series because if I want great dragons well I watch House of the Dragons obviously those dragons look waay better that the one that appear in this movie but that also doesn´t bother me. A real surprise was the end because Quinn changes his mind from only survive to live fighting against the dragon, I think that it was really the climax of this story, Van Zan trying to defeat the male dragon but spoiler alert he sacrifice to give the opportunity to Quinn to end with that misery world and with the dragons and Quinn complete the mission giving the world a new era, a good one. In deed is a good movie, all the action, the drama, the dragons I believe that is good time well expended.

Its not a secreat Im a fan of series like Games of Thrones and House of the Dragons and many others stories about dragons this is an acceptable story about this magical and fearsome creatures, I know it would not be fair to compare the cinematography between those huge series and this movie but Reign of Fire deliver what it promise including ideas that were unexpected in this movie for example the whole concept of using triangulated positioning to track flying dragons was pretty clever but the way how people jump without parachutes from the helicopter to put a net in that dragon so can´t fly and just fell in the ground was confusing for me but at the end is that they show that will do everything to eliminate all the dragons. The way the movie show how the survivor teach kids about the old world through acting out Star Wars, showing how culture and stories survive even after civilization collapses is always a good feeling plus it gave Christian Bale a chance to claim he invented the whole thing which was genuinely funny. An extra point that I can give to Reign of Fire is the touches they give to the dragons behavior, first that the dragons have trouble seeing during twilight hours, making dusk and dawn the best times to attack them when their vision gets confused also that they eat ash and compete with each other for territory it make them look like any other real animal that do the same, fight for a territory is part also of humans and that lead me to the humans or better says survivors that fight not with magic swords or special powers, no the movie keep the humans as the are just human fighting with what ever they can use against the dragons giving their life trying to give a better life to the next generation. At the end I can say that this story of dragons and survivors is good if you don´t mind the CGI and practical effects use on this movie because remember is from 2002, despite the low ratings online this is a very entertaining movie in my opinion and a cool watch, although I got to confess seen it more than five times since it came out in 2002.

#skiptvads, #inleo, #hive, #dragons, #apocalypse, #bale, #mcconaughey, #postapocalyptic, #fire, #action, #survival, #bowman, #battle, #effects, #creatures, #attack, #chaos, #scifi, #classic, #beasts, #flames, #fortress, #humans, #military, #tactics, #adventure, #monsters, #cinema

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Alien Earth Episode 3 titled Metamorphosis dropped last week, Im keeping up with the series but with so much content Im a bit behind on posting about it and Im a bit confuse with the show descions or north, trying to figure out what the hell is happening with this show, where we started with this promising concept about xenomorphs threatening our planet and now we got all this unnecessary drama thats slowly killing the vibe. This episode feels like they took the Alien franchise and decided to throw in a bunch of soap opera elements that nobody asked for, making the actual aliens feel like side characters in their own show. The opening scene has Wendy still chasing after her brother Joe who got dragged away by the xenomorph at the end of last episode, but instead of focusing on this tense situation we get sidetracked by all these other Lost Boys who are more interested in collecting specimens than actually rescuing anyone. Boy Cavaliere makes it clear that forget about saving people, its time to grab all the valuable alien creatures because apparently they are worth trillions of dollars, which completely shifts the focus from survival horror to corporate greed. The theater setting with old band posters really drives home how much civilization has been lost, but then the show undermines this atmosphere by having characters argue about their fake names and identity crisis instead of dealing with the immediate threat. Wendy finally finds Joe tied up in a container and hes screaming at her not to come closer because its obviously a trap but she goes anyway because thats what the script needs her to do. The whole rescue sequence should be terrifying but it turns into this weird action movie where Wendy basically becomes a superhero with a paper cutter blade, which is just ridiculous when you think about it, that wont do shit to an armored 8 feet tall Xenomorph.

• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13623632/
• Platform: HULU

The whole specimens collecting subplot takes over way too much of the episode, with Kirsh and the team grabbing five different alien species including the xenomorph eggs that should be treated with way more caution than they are showing. Boy Cavaliere is practically drooling over all these creatures like hes won the lottery, which makes sense from a corporate perspective but completely undermines the horror elements that should be driving this show. When they bring all the specimens back to Neverland its treated more like a science fair than a dangerous situation involving deadly alien life forms, the characters are way too casual about handling creatures that could potentially wipe out humanity. The scene where Boy Cavaliere almost gets face hugged because he puts his face right up to an egg is supposed to be tense but it just makes him look stupid, and Kirsh has to pull him away while explaining how the aliens work like hes giving a nature documentary. The whole dynamic between the different factions is getting more complex with Utani trying to recover the specimens from Prodigy, but this corporate warfare angle feels like it belongs in a different show entirely. Morrow calling his boss and refusing to come back until he gets the specimens creates this subplot about corporate loyalty versus personal obsession, which might be interesting in another context but here it just adds more unnecessary complications to what should be a straightforward survival story. The introduction of all these different alien species beyond the xenomorphs feels like the show is trying to create this expanded universe instead of focusing on what made the original Alien movies so effective.

Nibs is having an identity crisis about being trapped in a synthetic body she doesnt want, spoiler alert it gets WAY more wild on episode 4, but her trauma leads to this philosophical discussions about what makes someone human that feel completely out of place in an Alien story. She spends most of her screen time staring in mirrors and questioning her existence, which might work in a drama about artificial intelligence but here it just slows down the pacing when we should be dealing with the Alien threat, they really seem like trying to tame down the Xenomorph presence, yeah there is yet not a full grown one with them but Im sure its about to pop from Joe old lung. Curly is trying to compete with Wendy for Boy Cavalieres attention creating this weird love triangle that has nothing to do with the core concept of aliens threatening Earth and I wonder if that bubble is going to explode at some point creating friction between her and Wendy although been Wendy I doubt she comes back at Curly. The way they handle these character relationships feels more like a teen drama than a horror series, with characters arguing about favoritism and jealousy while literal monsters are running around. Slightly gets manipulated by Morrow through some kind of remote communication system that Im 1000% sure they going to catch and will be prepare for when Morrow arrive to Neverland, setting up this subplot about infiltration and espionage that again distracts from the main alien storyline. Now the really interested part of the episode is Wendy hearing the alien communications at the end, should be a terrifying revelation the reason for this is that you now have the potential to have one of your super hybrids be friend with a Xenomorph, thats fkn epic, imagine Wendy turning on the Xenomorph side and ends up they come in peace? well we know they dont.

#skiptvads, #inleo, #hive, #alien, #xenomorph, #horror, #franchise, #synthetic, #corporate, #specimens, #survival, #creatures, #tension, #drama, #identity, #threat, #episode, #characters, #storyline, #science, #fiction, #prodigy, #neverland, #experiment, #metamorphosis, #dialogue, #pacing, #review

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I saw this one a couple of nights ago but with so much content in queue and irl stuff didnt have time to write my review for The Orphanage (2007), lights low, phone off, this is not a typical horror ride, it is a slow burn mystery with a heart full of ghosts, not the jump scare machine some people expect and that is honestly why it works. Laura comes back to the big seaside orphan home where she grew up, she wants to open it again for kids who need extra care, her husband backs her, her little boy is sweet, strange, curious and from there the movie just keeps diging the past until the past return back harder and not in the best way. What got me this time was how the move takes its time, it never rubs your face in the dread, it just lets things feel off, a door that moves, a game that sounds childish but goes deep, a mask what looks silly at first and then looks like a nightmare once the camera holds, the story keeps handing you small clues, a hidden space where no one looked, a nurse with an old grudge, whispers that sound like play time but are not and the whole time I kept thinking this is grief walking around in daylight pretending to be something else, the movie knows it and plays it out perfeclty, it is more mother and memory than monster and gore and that is why it all works. Also keep in mind that this is a movie of Spanish director Juan Antonio Bayona under the production of Guillermo del Toro, two masters in suspense and terror.

• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0464141/
• Platform: AppleTV+

Rottentomatoes Rating

I do not think this thing is very scary in the classic sense, there are two or three moments that make you jump, a blast of sound here, a reveal there but the movie is not about punishing your nerves every five minutes, it is really about Laura trying to hold her life together while the house keeps telling her she is missing something, that angle pulls sympathy out of you, you get on her side fast, she is stubborn and loving and a bit reckless when the fear takes over, there is a sense that if the house had no ghosts, her mind would build them anyway because the past is still sitting at the dinner table asking to be served. I like that tug of war, it makes the supernatural stuff feel heavier and even though the movie makes it pretty clear early that the rules are not just in her head. I kept feeling like it would still work if it was, the mystery would still track, the pain would still hurt  and for me that is the good line this kind of story should walk. Technically the whole thing is tight, clean direction, smooth camera angles, the house looks lived in and cold at the same time, the rhythm is patient, sometimes almost too patient for anyone who want constant fireworks but the waiting and patience really paysoff.

Belen Rueda carries the whole story on her back without having to show off or go over the top, the fear is not just big eyes and shaking hands, it is quiet bad decisions that feel like love at the time, the husband has that calm logic that sometimes feels helpful and sometimes feels like a wall she keeps bouncing off, the kids sell the kid stuff, which matters here since games and imagination drive a lot, the side roles do not overcook the soup, even the figure who appears with answers late does not break the tone. I never felt like the movie was throwing a new genre at me mid way it all stays in the same sad lane, which I like as it stays focus and never goes off rails, there is a reveal path that is simple enough to follow but still rewarding and I appreciate that it does not try to be smarter than it needs. I think the movie sometimes telegraphs a beat a half step early, like you can see a door moment coming and your brain prepares, also there are a couple staging choices that feel a bit neat for the chaos we are told is brewing in the house and one talky explanation could have been cut out but I am honestly reaching there, most of the time the movie just does what it should do, it builds mood, it watches a mom fall apart and rebuild herself with the same pieces but in a different order and it lets the final stretch hit you in the chest not just the eyes.

The one that keeps banging across the movie is how it treats loss, not as a twist to slam at the end but as a presence sitting in every room , an old friend is now a stranger, a game is now a map, that is the proper rhythm, the house is a memory palace with locked drawers and Laura keeps finding keys by being brave and being wrong at the same time, that is pretty real and it is why the finale lands hard, it is not really a gotcha. I like that the supernatural here is not just punishment, it is also connection, guilt and mercy all tangled, it sits near stuff like The Devil’s Backbone in my head, old places holding on to old pain, kids knowing the truth first because adults forgot how to listen, makes me think about how houses keep secrets like people do and how games kids play can be maps to the worst room in the house if no one pays attention. I like how the movie uses space, there is also this mask, looks simple, almost homemade and the way they frame it becomes a small thesis about how ordinary things can turn violent its just amazing how simple things can turn scary and creepy under the right circumstances, the movie uses that idea again and again, a door is a door until it is not, I like movies that go for that kind of swing and find gold on the simple things.

I end up enjoying very much this movie as a fan of horror, specially psychological horror where everything happens in the character reminds me a little to The Possession of Michael King (2014), although The Orphanage carries something more just form the name, at the beginning give us a certain emotion watching Laura starting a new life and giving the same opportunity she received to all those kids that are living with her in the orphanage because she wanted to give a better life to them but when things start to change and the place start giving that sense of fear, that Laura decisions was wrong, that she has placed her family in special her son in a terrible place and that the kids are the one who are receiving and sending messaging for the adults to understand what is happening, in that moment you know that it is a good story. Is not  mind blowing, is not your classic horror movie, it is a movie with a story full of history about a place that is more of what we can see and the end of it is a twisted scenario that probably you will hate or think brilliant, even thought is not the end you were expecting. It is a movie that I can see once a year with no doubt and would totally recommended.

#skiptvads, #inleo, #hive, #orphanage, #supernatural, #ghost, #spanish, #horror, #drama, #childhood, #bayona, #rueda, #mystery, #haunted, #children, #family, #grief, #loss, #motherhood, #simon, #laura, #tomas, #seance, #medium, #disappearance, #games, #death, #sacrifice

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I jumped into Invasion season 3 completely fresh, no recap, no catching up, just me and episode 1 on a random weeknight and it felt like walking into a party where everyone knows each other and you are trying to decode what the fuck is going on and questions keep coming up and I like that. The episode opens in a way that pretend peace is normal now after the big mother ship crash, people celebrate the anniversary like some new holiday, fireworks vibes and good times and then it all starts peeling off. From what I gather this world went through hell with a huge alien ship falling and wrecking a chunk of the planet, that area turned into a toxic dead zone and humans decided cool we won, let us go back to sports and speeches and a single world government, the WDC running things. Except there are tiny cracks everywhere, you get that early cold open with a family and then something brutal paying them a visit, not loud, not flashy, just the reminder that the monsters are still out there stalking the dark while people barbecuing. That alone sold me because I like when a show pretends stability is real then yanks the rug, it makes the air feel heavy and the pretend smiles fake. I will say up front the CGI looks a bit rough sometimes, specially on closer shots or the wide background plates where the portal effect kicks in, not trash but a little off, still the mood carries it and the sound hints are excellent, it is more about dread than big set pieces here, this is not the episode for fireworks or constant chasing, it is mostly mood and puzzle pieces.

• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt18177528/
• Platform: AppleTV+

The big swing here is Travante Cole popping back into the story out of a portal that was supposed to be dead, this guy volunteered to go into the alien ship before and was assumed gone for good, now he reappears floating and alive which scares everyone more than it comforts them. I like this angle a lot, it is less yay our hero returns and more what did they do to him, what is he carrying back with him, why now of all times. The WDC suits treat him like a potential Trojan horse, which honestly feels believable considering how the aliens have messed with people’s minds before, mimicking voices and playing inside your head like a broken radio. Travante does not remember everything, he has this scratch at the back of his mind that something is wrong, flashes of a huge core inside the ship, him swinging that shard weapon that was suppose to end them and then getting flung back like the ship spit him out on purpose, he keeps insisting they are not done yet and nobody in charge wants to hear it because it ruins the nice victory speech and the peace branding. I actually dig how the episode refuses to hand over neat answers, it keeps it blurry, like he is haunted and the world wants to medicate it away, there is also this quick eye thing he gets, that blue flicker and if you watched the earlier stuff you would know it means something is not normal in there, I do not have the full context but the vibe is loud, he is not just back, he is tethered to something. The drama sometimes drags, people debating in rooms, a lot of looks and pauses and I get that it might test patience if you want more action, but the paranoia thread keeped me with it, it is like when someone knocks softly on a door for a full minute, it is annoying, until it is scary.

Jamila is the other anchor this hour, now in London trying to live like a regular teen with a new boyfriend and a calmer life but when Travante shows up on the news it rips open that grief she still carries for Casper, her best friend who did not make it back from that final push. Her decision to fly across the ocean felt impulsive and very human, she is not chasing heroics, she needs to know what really happened to him and if Travante saw anything in those final moments, when she approaches Travante at the big welcome event, handing him Casper’s EEG from the moment he flatlined, the show flips a switch, those readings act like a trigger and his memories flood harder, not in clean images, the ship core, power humming like a giant heart, there is also this spooky hint that Casper might not be completely gone, like his mind touched their network and left a fingerprint, I am not saying he is alive just that the connection did not cut clean. That small detail got in my head because it turns this into more than a military mystery, it adds a personal thread that can actually carry the season, grief mixed with cosmic WiFi is one way to look at it lol. Jamila choosing to go with Travante later is one of those TV choices that can be dumb in other shows, here it works because nobody official believes him and she is done waiting for permission, it is the two of them against a system that would rather keep the party going than admit the storm is back on the horizon.

Another thing I liked, the show takes its time to explain why the world is so deluded, after the crash the hunter killers pulled back toward that dead zone, the portals got shut down and torched, the WDC took over and turned the planet into a single flag operation so people feel safe because the rules say it is over, even though the dead zone is literally unlivable and still breathing fumes. The episode hints that the mother ship did not fall because humans beat it, it fell because something on their side changed strategy, like they molted the shell and buried it, that is a creepy idea, it means the victory people celebrate might be part of the invaders long game and if that is true then Travante being sent back could be part warning part weapon, I hope the show leans into that distrust, it is way more interesting than a straight invasion swaem. There is also a cool callback I caught from the transcripts, the birds flying in weird synchronized swirls thats always a bad omen and things about to go south, that pattern is a tell in this world that something alien is close, so when Travante looks up and sees it again, it is not just a pretty shot, it is a siren. The episode makes a point that authority figures either write him off as PTSD or call him compromised, the head of defense even mentions how Travante keeps surviving when others do not, which is both unfair and exactly the kind of thing a paranoid bureaucracy would say, the show is trying to make you question him a bit, but not enough to fully turn on him, it walks that line careful.

Now the stuff that bugged me a bit, the CGI has this rubber feel in some portal beats, not all of it, just pieces, also there are stretches of heavy talking that go around circles, I get that it is setting the table for the season and it is episode one so it must bring back the world, but a touch more urgency would have helped, the action is minimal for sure, this is not a set piece premiere, it rides on mood, tension and crumbs of sci fi weird, personal drama takes up a lot of space, some of it strong, some of it feels like glue between bigger reveals, I am fine with slow burn if the payoff hits soon, for now I am in, but I hope episode 2 brings a spike and not only more meetings and staged speeches. That said the episode is good at hiding sharp teeth under normal days, the family scene at the start is a quiet punch, the Jamila stuff feels grounded and Travante’s haunted stare sells more than any exposition line, also the whole single world government thing is a great sandbox for mistrust and cover ups, they even keep his return secret for days before rolling him out for a victory event, that is the right kind of shady. Tiny touches like the dead zone being a place where even the alien beasts retreated to, almost like they were called back home, gives the world a lived in threat and I prefer that to random explosions.

Towards the end the show finally moves the pieces, Travante realizes he will not get help from the people in charge, Jamila stops living in the past and chooses forward motion and both of them hit the road to find the few people who have real experience with the weird, the names that pop up through the episode make it clear they are trying to link this season events back to the key survivors and brains that dealt with the entities and their frequencies before, I did not watch those past espisodes but I can tell they are important and that the reunion is part of the season plan, I like that a lot, for sure I plan to catch up so going to have to burn some hours watching the first season. The last scenes with the birds is simple and great, a visual callback that says we are not safe without shouting it, couple that with the early house attack and the portal flicker under the ocean and you get a clean message, the invasion did not end, it just went quiet, now it is waking up again. My first impresion of the series and episode, the episode drags here and there, the CGI has rough, there is way more talking than doing but the core hook is cool, the paranoia is working, Travante returning broken and possibly linked is so so good, I want more context on the shard, the portals and how deep the alien hive plays inside peoples minds, it got me interested enough and even with the slow roll I can see the storm building.

#skiptvads, #inleo, #hive, #invasion, #apple, #season3, #premiere, #travante, #jamila, #casper, #wdc, #portal, #mothership, #deadzone, #aliens, #hivemind, #memory, #warning, #london, #atlantic, #return, #paranoia, #birds, #threat, #danger, #survival, #drama, #scifi

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Im pritty sure that many people and I included though that this could be a really good movie and why? Easy answer Luc Besson was involved as a writer alongside George Huang who directed it, but you know more for Luc Besson, just for you to know he is the writer and director of two greatest movie in Hollywood ¨The Professional¨ and ¨The Fifth Element¨ and many more but now Im only going to mention this two, if you have time watch it are great and you will thank me, returning to this movie something that I thought is that this could be a new version of a Fast and the Furious because included one of his most beloved actor Sung Kang only that here he wasn´t part of a good family. The whole setup seemed perfect on paper, you got Luke Evans playing this DEA agent who goes undercover in Taiwan to take down Sung Kang's character who runs this big drug operation but then it turns into this weird family drama when Evans discovers his ex girlfriend is now married to the guy he's trying to arrest and they have a kid together this information let you know that things wont be easy for the agent and that is notice at the moment that you see the trailer with all those actions scenes and car chases through the streets of Taipei but even though all seems well done we can notice that the production team couldn´t decide if they wanted to make a serious crime thriller or some kind of family reunion movie with explosions and let me tell you something at the moment I knew that Luc Besson was part of this project I belived this could be something good because in almost of his movies he tries to give us interesting characters with this unique life and also though the same about Sung Kang because he always bring a unique way to play his characters but at the end it seems that so many ideas were taking and never fit together giving us at the end a really expensivie film but without heart.

• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt28142896/
• Platform: Amazon Prime Video

Rottentomatoes Rating

Ok I know that when we have movies with explotions, chases, family issues and drugs in somehow you are going to see different moments that will show every situation but here in Weekedn in Taipei is so obvios that they couldn´t trace a line to connect everything in a perfect way theres to many storylines but you don´t see that any of those stories received the attention they deserve you got Evans character dealing with his past relationship drama while also trying to stay undercover and complete his mission, then there's this whole thing with the kid who finds out his real dad is the guy trying to arrest his stepdad and decides to steal some important files because he's upset about dolphins getting killed, oh my god this is one those part in the movie that came in and you get like What is going on? Really, he is going to steal something so important because now he is concern about the dolphins dying and is so easy for him to steal that from his dad (now stepdad), is like they needed an excuse and the most stupid one to make the kid commit the rob also Sung Kang's character is supposed to be this ruthless crime boss but he spends most of the movie acting like a concerned father figure who just happens to run a drug empire on the side, which might work if the script gave him more depth but instead he just comes across as this generic villain who occasionally shows emotion meanwhile Evans continue doing his best with what he's given but his character is like millions other agents that we have seen in many generic movies about agents in undercover mission nothing in this role making shine or special and in addition all that family drama with his exgirlfriend and new son is not deep enough to make us, the audience care about all that drama.

Always the best part of the movie are the action scenes,in Weekend in Taipei theres some cool action scenes but that are far away of being memorable but you at least can enjoy like this kitchen fight scene early on where Evans takes on multiple guys using various cooking utensils that should be exciting and at the beginning it was but it goes on way too long and starts feeling repetitive after the first few minutes you can think that they really effort and spent a lot of time creating this choreography but at the end you just get bored sometimes less is more another scene is the car chase through Taipei has some nice moments where you really get a sense of the city and its streets, but again it doesn't bring anything new to the table that we haven't seen done better in other movies just cars driving fast and occasionally crashing into things without any real sense of danger or excitement, if you are a person that has seen many movies with this kind of topic, you know that could be done in a better, another scene that Im still thinking that it supposed to be serious or more as a fun scene, it is about a violent moment mixed with almost comedic family drama that doesn´t combine at all, it feels that one again the production team didn´t know what to do and they just said ¨hey, lest do it violent and fun¨, everything about the movie feels rushed and poorly planned, like they run out of budget, time or emotion to continue with the project and decided to ended as quickly as possible.

I was really excited to see what this two directors will bring to the table with Weekend in Taipei but sometime things dont happen as expected and I do believe that this movie had the potential to be sometime way better of what I saw and I mention this because the movie premise was good, a federal agent undercover in an Asiatic country behind of a huge drug dealer discovering that his old love now is with this person and worst discovering that he has a son that has been raised all this time by this man, then you add all the luxury, luxury cars, the essence of other country no the classic views of America that is not wrong is just that the idea of see others countries in a movie is always cool, it sounds all good for me but the way it was done it was get me mad and more for the carrier Luc Besson with Sung Kang and Evans all sounded like a good movie but I was wrong. Sung Kang character was wasted with poor scene that only shows more are concerned dad than a real mafia king and Evans with his ex girlfriend issues that should be the center of the story because you know she hide that he has a son all the interaction between feels force instead of showing a real conflict between them and what they are facing inclusive all the setting of Taipei feels wasted because while you can see a beautiful city and doesn´t feel integrated or part of the story, looks more that an exotic place than a home, probably many people will say that Taipei is a really exotic place I have never been there but in this movie as I said doesn´t feel like a home for any of the characters.

I just feel disappointed, it seems that I have huge expectation about this movie just for the names that formed part of this movie but this is when we always think that a name is not everythign. Luc Besson great writer and director, Sung Kang and Luke Evans are good in what they do but this time there combination didn´t work and Im not saying this because they are bad in this movie I said because they tried to do the best they can with what they received, a poor script and poor direction instead of their characters seems like what they supposed to be, DEA agent against a mafia boss fighting in a beautiful city as Taipei chasing each other and in the middle another fight one to save his family and the other to keep it, this movie was less than exciting was just another movie. Even though I do have to recognize the action scenes were competent but not enough to cover up for the lack of family drama that feels forced and artificial and the whole thing just lacks the energy and creativity that you would expect from something with Luc Besson's involvement. I know that I might be overreacting but I think the internet got my back on this one saying its BBAAADDDD, you will think well is just another bad movie, yes probably it is but the point here is that good directors and a production team should always work in a path to bring something good to the audience.

#skiptvads, #inleo, #hive, #weekend, #taipei, #review, #action, #besson, #kang, #evans, #movie, #thriller, #undercover, #family, #drama, #disappointment, #choreography, #chase, #taiwan, #crime, #boss, #agent, #potential, #wasted, #casting, #script, #forgettable, #mediocre

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Peacemaker Season 2 came out and this is a first time for me, Im the type of viewer that really dont care if I havent seen the first movie or the previous season of a TV series, in fact I think thats even better because then I get intrigue on how we got there so I decided to give it a try and man I have some mixed feelings about this whole thing, like seriously James Gunn what were you thinking with some of these choices. There is this episode that tries to do way too much at once while also feeling kinda empty in places that matter with the opening scene where Chris wakes up to Eagly pecking at him was cute and all but then we dive straight into this whole multiverse thing with his quantum chamber that his dad left behind, which honestly feels like they are trying too hard to connect everything to the bigger DC universe instead of just letting Peacemaker be its own thing and I hope the Multiverse thing stays just here in Peacemaker and dont try to expand into other movies or series and go the entire MCU style. The whole setup with the alien dude throwing dead animals into a furnace every day is weird but not in the good way its more comedy than superhero related and I get this is a very dark TV series, its all so weird and you can tell the writers are like "we need something quirky here", then Chris discovers this other dimension where his dad and brother, Mutltiverse AGAIN!!!, are still alive and everything is perfect which should be this emotional gut punch moment but it kinda just happens without any real meaning rather than pushing this multiverse narrative.

• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13146488/
• Platform: HULU

Rottentomatoes Rating

After the Superman 2025 movie came out there will be more connection within the entire DCEU and they have started with Peacemaker so there is the thing between the old DC movies and the new DCU, sure I get that James Gunn had to fix some stuff but the way they just retconned the Justice League appearance from season one feels lazy as hell, yeah I havent seen Season 1 but that screenshot comparing S01 and S02 says it all, same show with Justice League and then Justice Gang, it seems there is going to be a lot of copy / cut / paste / delete. They literally reshot scenes and changed dialogue to make it the Justice Gang instead which is fine I guess but it makes you wonder what else they are gonna change down the line with he whole previously on segment was clever I will give them that but it also made me miss the original season one ending even more, like why not just embrace the messiness instead of trying to clean it up. Now WTF!!! with that orgy scene, it just felt completely unnecessary and felt like shock value for the sake of shock value, like we get it Chris is lonely and makes bad decisions but did we really need to see all that, plus John Cena promoting coke? wtf, seriously. The scene goes on way too long and adds nothing to his character development, plus it just feels gross considering how they established that he doesn't have many real friends to begin with so where did all these people come from, did he just put an add on Facebook "Orgy Here" with his address and a sign on his front door?.

The new opening dance sequence is another thing that really bothered me, I get it has to be awkward to fit with the rest of the theme, if this was my first time on this series without knowing anything at all about Peacemaker then I would have probably shut it down righ there, there is no excitement, no energy, everyone seems dead and the only cute / cool part is the eagle posing at the end. I went back to check if the opening is a thing for the series and it seems, this time the choreography looks more expensive and polished but sometimes more money doesn't equal better results, the original felt more fun while this one feels like they are trying too hard to top themselves. All the new cast members doing the dance looked awkward as hell and not in the charming way that made the first season so endearing, Frank Grillo and Michael Rooker looked like they would rather be anywhere else, the whole thing about showing Chris with Harcourt in romantic situations during the dance felt premature too since their relationship hasn't even developed that far yet, its like they are spoiling their own story.

To finish on the alternate universe stuff because this is where the episode really lost me even though it had some good moments scattered, the idea of Chris finding a world where his dad isn't a racist monster and his brother is still alive is actually pretty brilliant on paper but the execution felt rushed and shallow. We don't spend enough time in that world to really feel the emotional impact of seeing what his life could have been like, instead we just get this quick tour of his perfect bedroom and a newspaper showing how successful the family is. The fight between the two Peacemkers was decent action wise but it felt inevitable rather than surprising, like of course one of them has to die for the story to move forward. What really bothered me was how quickly our Chris decides to potentially take over this other guys life without thinking about the consequences, like what about all the people who care about that version of him. The whole thing with the other Peacemaker having better gear and being able to fly was cool visually but it also made our Chris look like a chump in comparison.

#skiptvads, #inleo, #hive, #peacemaker, #jamessgunn, #johncena, #dcu, #hbo, #multiverse, #quantum, #chamber, #eagly, #harcourt, #vigilante, #rickflag, #continuity, #retcon, #justiceleague, #justicegang, #orgy, #dance, #opening, #credits, #alternatedimension, #toxic, #masculinity, #amanda, #waller

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Thinking about this movie is really unexpected that after so many years this actress decided to return and give her an opportunity again in Hollywood, I´m talking about Pamela Anderson, she is in the new movie The Last Showgirl, she plays Shelly a 57 year old showgirl that has been doing the same act in Vegas for over 38 years but suddenly it is cancelled since that moment she must figure out what the hell she is going to do with her life. What really got me hooked though was how the movie doesnt try to make Vegas look all glamorous and exciting like most movies do, instead it shows you the backstage chaos and the day to day grind of people who are basically just trying to survive, which feels way more real than all that glittery bullshit we usually see. A move directed by Gia Coppola, as soon as you see that last name you start to judge right away because his grandfather is not more than Francis Ford Coppola a legend in Hollywood so knowing you expect more than a decent movie.

• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt31193791/
• Platform: Amazon Prime Video

Rottentomatoes Rating

Remembering her days on Baywatch Pamela Anderson probably didn´t demonstrate her acting capacity because back in the ´90 she was more a sex symbol now with her new role she wants to show that she can performed more deepest characters. Shelly is presented as weird mix of being vulnerable but also stubborn as hell, a person who refuse give up in life even though all those years of disappointment she carries, at the same time you can see a more motherhood side when she is taking care of other dancers show us that she care about others. In addition to this story a new person is shown Jamie Lee Curtis playing the role of Shelly best friend Annette both of them are going to continue fighting and hang on onto whatever dignity they have left. Jamie Lee Curtis as usual embrace her role giving perfect mix of bitterness and humor to a character who could have easily been just another sad aging performer and completing the triplet is David Bautista who plays Eddie the stage manager bringing this quiet strength to the role, also theres a story between him and Shelly that the movie reveals slowly, every single character is in place including the supporting cast which are Kiernan Shipka and Brenda Song who plays the younger dancers both did a good job showing how they look up to Shelly even when she is struggling with her own demons.

This is the moment when we must concentrate in talk about the resurgence of Pamela Anderson career, being honest she as an actress that doesn´t has a long acting history, she is remember for few things like the Baywatch T.V. series and an infamous sex tape, I really didn´t know about it existence I only knew about the Kim Kardashian sex tape now about this one too but let focus, returning to the main topic that is Pamela Anderson as an actress, she really brought something special to this role that surprised the hell out of me. In the movie she is now a 57 year old woman remembering her first audition where she felt nervous and totally out of her comfort zone after that flashback she bring us back to the present where we can see that she actually has been doing the same for almost four decades since the 80s she has always been part of the Razzle Dazzle we can confirmed that at the moment we saw the promotional posters of those first year as performer knowing that it has been her life for 40 years if weird to tell how you can feel about it can be impressive or depressing is something to think about it, as Shelly she continue showing us her life but now at the backstage, it is full of energy and chaos during the show everyone scrambling around changing costumes between number, the good part of all this chaos is that the young dancers feels comfortable with Shelly, she has become a very important part of their life like a mother figure in special for Jodie whos dealing with family shit, knowing that probably Shelly is dealing with her personal demons she is willing to be a guidance for the people who surround her and not only be tag as an aging performer.

I do believe that a good way a movie can reflect a real aspect in a story is creating that essence that can touch your soul and the way of doing it is showing us real personal relationships this movie show us the relationship between all those women has how they support each other in a industry that basically treats them as disposable but also can show us how that same industry can affect, manipulate and destroy a relation between a daughter and a mother, Billy Lourd is Shelly´s distanced daughter Hannah their scenes together are some of the most emotionally powerful in the whole movie, you can see how Shellys dedication to her career has cost her the relationship with her own daughter creating this tension between following your dreams and being a responsible parent, this kind of situation is what many families faces just thinking that with a better job can provide a better life to their children but unfortunately for Shelly wasn´t the case, being parent will never be easy also being an aging actress and that is reflected in a very difficult scene which is the audition scene feature Jason Schwartzman as this casting director who basically tells Shelly that she is too old not talented enough for what he is looking for and that her time has passed, dam that was brutal and realistic, the way that this casting director spit all those words to Shelly felt diabolic because it shows how the entertainment industry treats aging women, especially those whose careers have been based on their looks, even though that unfortunately moment that Shelly lived, I can tell you that the a scene with Jamie Lee Curtis is an slap in the face for those who think that age is a problem, this actress is incredible in her role as Annette, she gets up and dances by herself in the middle of a casino making that scene both heartbreaking and beautiful, it show someone who still has passion for performing even though the world has written her off giving a look to a woman that still can fight and defiance to the moment.

I didn´t think this will be a movie that can impress me but I always believe that we must give a chance to movies that probably will never be our first option to watch The Last Showgirl only call the attention of the people for the actress Pamela Anderson and that´s the truth why? For the same reason that I watched, I need to know that despite all this years she has something to good to show us as an audience and let me tell you she did it, more that than the movie is good, the way that Vegas was shown without fall into all the usual cliches about the excess, the glamour, the sex, gambling you know all those things when you hear Vegas, also the way time is passing showing how Shelly started as a main show in the Razzle Dazzle and the audience is waiting for her with expectation but then the present hit you with a totally different reality theres almost now audience waiting for her even though that situation in backstage the performers and her are rushing to get ready a give best of them that night but everything get to end when the Razzle Dazzle is bought and close in this point of the movie Shelly knows she stock in a world that doesn´t belong to her anymore, that she doesn´t know anything else but being a performer, her desperation at that point is real working hard to not fall apart as everything does around her. Pamela Anderson proves that she was not only the old sexy woman that many people watched back in the days in Baywatch, she really gave more as an actress in this role as Shelly doing a good job and working with a good supporting cast that backup her making her shine in this movie. Despite all the thoughts Pamela Anderson movie, yes Im going to call it in that way because I do believe that´s the way many people will call it, is a good movie showing the struggle many actors and actress passed through at the moment they reach certain age and not only they because in real life many people pass for the same thing every single day, that´s why I got something in my mind, the way Shelly work in the same place doing the same thing for more than 40 years and at the end she only received a ¨thank you for your services¨, that happen to many people so is good to stay working for so many years in the same place or is better to move, grow as an person, learn different things and no only get stock in one place in one thing in one job, probably many people will say well is better move but sometimes for other is not so easy for that reason this is a good story force you think in the future when we all are going to arrive in one point of our live. At the end this movie doesn´t confirm if will work perfectly for Shelly but at least show us that she learn about herself who she is and that she can continue with her life with out her costumes and a stage, not a revolutionary movie but a good enough one time watch a 6.5/10 is fine.

#skiptvads, #inleo, #hive, #pamela, #anderson, #showgirl, #vegas, #aging, #performance, #casino, #dancers, #entertainment, #comeback, #family, #daughter, #friendship, #survival, #dignity, #audition, #backstage, #costume, #makeup, #dreams, #disappointment, #reinvention, #industry, #vulnerable, #realistic

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Your Place or Mine is a romantic comedy that can fully live up to ones expectations (it was more than fine for me) - especially with Ashton Kutcher and Reese Witherspoon as the protagonists.

Even though I had not watched a recent movie of them, I knew that with these two leading the story, it would probably be a charming and entertaining film.

The story:

Two long-distance best friends change each other's lives when she decides to pursue a lifelong dream and he volunteers to keep an eye on her teenage son.

What really surprised me today when I checked imdb, is the 5.7/10 rating. I would definitely put it a bit above 6 and I admit that I enjoyed this movie, even found many funny points that made me smile.

The chemistry between the characters feels natural and engaging, making the story flow smoothly. The film manages to avoid keep the viewers' attention, as the interest is almost ongoing without many dull or slow moments. Just when you think you know where the story is heading, some cool plot twists appear to keep you invested until the very end.

Overall, Your Place or Mine is a feel-good watch that delivers exactly what you’d hope for from a romantic comedy, led by two beloved actors.

I would describe it as funny, warm, and very pleasant to watch.

I would suggest is a great pick for anyone looking to enjoy a sweet story with a few surprises along the way.

Extra: You can watch some nice spots of New York too :) and also if you liked Grays Anatomy, there is another surprise waiting for you!

Also, just a trivial question .. do you believe in true friendship between women-men?

Thanks for taking the time to visit :)

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