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

Rottentomatoes Rating

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Source The story structure is actually pretty clever too cause it takes you through different stages of dealing with this apocalypse, starting with Jims complete isolation and confusion when he wakes up to find everyone gone, then moving into survival mode when he meets Selena and Mark who teach him the new rules of staying alive in this nightmare world. Selena is this hardcore survivor who has learned to shut off her emotions cause caring about people will get you killed, she literally takes out her own partner with a machete the moment he gets infected without hesitation, but then you see her slowly opening up again when they meet Frank and Hannah who represent this small pocket of humanity still trying to maintain some normalcy. The themes running through the movie are pretty heavy too, its not just about surviving zombie attacks but about what happens to society when everything falls apart, how quickly people can turn savage or how small acts of kindness become precious in a world gone mad. The infected rage virus works as this metaphor for all the anger and violence that already exists in society, its just been amplified and stripped of any control or reason, and by the third act when they encounter the soldiers you realize that humans without rules or consequences can be just as dangerous as any infected creature.

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Source One thing that does show the movies age and budget limitations is the digital video quality which looks pretty rough by todays standards, it was shot on one of those first consumer digital cameras available and you can really tell when you watch it on modern high definition screens, it really took me back to those 2000s home made bootleg DVD when I play it on my 4k monitor, there are those who find it as an artistic choice that adds to the gritty realism but honestly it just looks dated and pixelated now and I love it, dont try to sugar coat it and it just works, especially compared to movies shot on film from the same era that still look crisp today, its one of those technical decisions that seemed innovative at the time but hasnt aged well at all when it comes to new generations, only we who went through all those tech changes would appreciate it. Might be shocking what Im going to say but Cillian Murphy does a decent job as the confused every man thrust into this situation, he was not the star he is now days, he doesnt have a lot of charisma and sometimes you feel like you are just watching things happen to him rather than rooting for him to succeed. Brendan Gleeson is fantastic as Frank the taxi driver who becomes this father figure for the group, bringing everyone together and humor to what could have been a completely random story but unfortunately he doesnt get enough screen time before his character gets wipe out. The movie also has some pacing issues where it drags at certain times especially during the middle part where they are living in Franks apartment building and not much is happening almost like trying to weather the storm kinda moment, I suppose thats realistic since survival would involve a lot of boring waiting around between moments of terror and desperation.

#skiptvads, #inleo, #hive, #zombie, #infected, #apocalypse, #survival, #horror, #thriller, #british, #london, #budget, #digital, #camera, #violence, #brutal, #gritty, #rage, #virus, #boyle, #murphy, #realistic, #bleak, #society, #chaos, #destruction, #pandemic, #cinema

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Hace días se estrenó La Peor Película del 2025, "War of the Worlds", producción original de Amazon Prime Video; la cual es el tercer film basado en la novela de ciencia-ficción escrita por H. G. Wells en 1898 y en esta oportunidad la historia es relatada desde el punto de vista de "Will Radford" un agente del Departamento de Seguridad de los Estados Unidos, quien también a la par de sus importantes funciones está el de ser padre, aunque ese no es su mejor trabajo, ya que la relación sobreprotectora hacía sus dos hijos genera una relación distante y conflictiva; todo lo antes descrito tendrá suma importancia para la historia porque de manera inesperada, La Tierra es víctima de una invasión alienígena lo cual hará que un hombre encargado de la vigilancia de la nación americana deba salvar al mundo, pero principalmente salvar a sus hijos.

A few days ago, The Worst Movie of 2025, "War of the Worlds", an original Amazon Prime Video production, was released. It is the third film based on the science fiction novel written by H. G. Wells in 1898. This time, the story is told from the point of view of "Will Radford," an agent of the United States Department of Homeland Security, who, in addition to his important duties, is also a father, although that is not his best job, since his overprotective relationship with his two children creates a distant and conflictive relationship. All of the above will be of utmost importance to the story because, unexpectedly, Earth falls victim to an alien invasion, which will force a man in charge of protecting the American nation to save the world, but mainly to save his sons.

Desde el primer instante que vi el tráiler de esta película, era sumamente notorio que sería una muy mala, aunque la idea en que la historia estuviera relatada desde el punto de vista de un hombre que justamente ve el mundo desde el monitor de su computadora usando redes sociales, canales de noticias, camaras de vigilancia, drones y satélites, no la encuentro para nada mal aunque eso sí, es para nada original por lo ya visto en otros filmes como "Searching" (2018) y "Missing" (2023); mi opinión o la definición que di de esta producción al ver minutos de promoción, era con respecto a lo pobre la producción y las malas actuaciones, una mezcla que pude confirmar al momento de ver está película con una duración de mucho más de una hora.

Está no será la primera y última producción que usa "War of the Worlds" como base para algún relato en dónde la humanidad y su actuación sea los principales protagonistas al enfrentar un evento catastrófico; el problema de esta película es que justamente el desarrollo de su historia es lo más pobre que he visto en los últimos años, los diálogos y la resolución de muchos de los eventos que ocurren son risorios, nada emocionantes y justamente es eso lo que actualmente está atrayendo a muchas personas a ver está película lo cual posiblemente la conviertan en un film de culto por lo mala que es.

From the moment I saw the trailer for this film, it was abundantly clear that it would be very poor, although I don't think the idea of telling the story from the point of view of a man who sees the world through his computer monitor using social media, news channels, surveillance cameras, drones, and satellites is bad at all, although it is it's not original at all, as we've already seen it in other films such as "Searching" (2018) and "Missing" (2023). My opinion, or the definition I gave of this production after seeing a few minutes of promotion, was based on the poor production and bad acting, a combination that I was able to confirm when I saw this film, which lasts well over an hour.

This will not be the first or last production to use "War of the Worlds" as the basis for a story in which humanity and its actions are the main protagonists when facing a catastrophic event; the problem with this film is that the development of its story is the poorest I have seen in recent years. The dialogues and the resolution of many of the events that occur are laughable, unexciting, and that is precisely what is currently attracting many people to see this film, which may possibly turn it into a cult film because of how bad it is.

En mi vida he visto películas de clase B en dónde existen mejores actuaciones de las que se ofrece en esta película, en especial (en realidad no hay nada especial) por parte de Ice Cube quien ofrece una horrenda actuación; su interpretación de un agente de seguridad nacional de alto rango para su gobierno, es para nada convincente, no existe emoción, no hay drama, no es cómico y peor aún, su personaje cumple con todo estereotipo cinematográfico del afroamericano, esto lo digo por frases y demás que repito, le quitan relevancia y seriedad a su personaje; aparte del mal desempeño del protagonista principal, sumo la pobre actuación de Eva Longoria, quien interpreta a una doctora que trabaja para la NASA, si Cube es para nada convincente, que se puede esperar de Eva, su trabajo así como de su compañero protagonista, es lamentable, es una brutal competencia para demostrar quien es el peor actor y que por momentos hubo igualdad de condiciones.

In my life, I have seen B movies with better performances than those offered in this film, especially (actually, there is nothing special) by Ice Cube, who gives a terrible performance, his portrayal of a high-ranking national security agent for his government is not at all convincing, there is no emotion, no drama, it is not funny, and worse still, his character fits every cinematic stereotype of African Americans. I say this because of the phrases and other things he repeats, which detract from the relevance and seriousness of his character; In addition to the poor performance of the main character, I would add the poor performance of Eva Longoria, who plays a doctor working for NASA. If Cube is not at all convincing, what can be expected of Eva? Her work, as well as that of her co-star, is regrettable. It is a brutal competition to see who is the worst actor, and at times there was a tie.

War of the Worlds de Prime Video, es la peor película del año, olviden otra producción, nada puede superar a esta pobre historia que trata de cubrir ciencia-ficción, drama familiar, conspiración gubernamental, acción y suspenso, en todos esos términos fallan y solo son exitosos en generar memes, en usar lo malo de la actuación de Ice Cube para tener relevancia e impulsar al público en ver ese desastre. A pesar de todo lo dicho, mientras trata de terminar de ver está película, no dejaba de pensar que está mala producción tenía el potencial de ser una franquicia en dónde existan otras películas protagonizadas por otros ex raperos, por ejemplo una con Ice T como el padre del personaje interpretado por Cube, en dónde debe lidiar con la tecnología desde un ancianato mientras debe salvar su vida de la invasión; también puede haber otra película de un hermano de Cube, interpretado por LL Cool J, quien es militar que debe luchar contra los remanentes de la invasión y por último contar con una película final en dónde a ellos tres se una Vanilla Ice y Snoop Dog en un evento de mayor proporción para terminar de salvar al mundo; ojalá la puedan realizar.

Prime Video's War of the Worlds is the worst movie of the year. Forget about any other production; nothing can beat this poor story that tries to cover science fiction, family drama, government conspiracy, action, and suspense. It fails in all those areas and only succeeds in generating memes and using the poor acting of Ice Cube to gain relevance and encourage the audience to watch this disaster. Despite all that, as I tried to finish watching this movie, I couldn't help thinking that this bad production had the potential to be a comedy and make the audience laugh at the absurdity of it all. Ice Cube's poor acting to gain relevance and encourage the public to watch this disaster. Despite all that has been said, while trying to finish watching this movie, I couldn't help thinking that this bad production had the potential to be a franchise with other movies starring other former rappers, for example, one with Ice T as the father of the character played by Cube, where he has to deal with technology from a retirement home while saving his life from the invasion; there could also be another movie about a brother of Cube, played by LL Cool J, who is a soldier who must fight against the remnants of the invasion, and finally a final movie where the three of them are joined by Vanilla Ice and Snoop Dog in a larger-scale event to finish saving the world; hopefully they can make it happen.

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

I know it has been a while since my last movie review post. That does not mean I have not been watching movies; on the contrary, I have gone back to watch some old classics I still find funny in today's world.

Recently, I have discovered that I am beginning to find comfort in watching comedy movies, especially late at night, as it puts a smile on my face before bed. I know it might sound clichéd, but it even helps add some beauty to late-night dreams while keeping nightmares away.

First on my list was Happy Gilmore 2. I have to add that there is still room for improvement on Netflix when it comes to comedy movies, as there are only a handful of them. Only a few funny Kelvin Hart movies, and even my favourite comedy actor, Adam Sandler, has only grown-ups and a few others on Netflix. I suspect that is the reason for Netflix's recent shift into making more movies, as they are trying to widen the scope of movies they have on their platform. Hence, the making of Happy Gilmore 2.

For those who do not know it yet, Happy Gilmore is a 1998 comedy classic starring Adam Sandler as Happy Gilmore, a hockey player with some pretty short temper issues, which leads to his disqualification from playing the sport of hockey after a physical confrontation on the hockey field.

Here is the funny thing, one would think that is the end for Happy, but it is only the beginning, as new information about his Grandma's house getting seized by the mortgage bank if she doesn't pay off her long overdue mortgage debt comes to light. In the desperate attempt to raise cash for his grandma, Happy ventures into golf when he sees how big the prize money is.

I must confess that what grabbed my interest in watching Happy Gilmore was the scene of how he hates it when people are slow, which reminds me of the blog story I read about a man beating his opponent on the golf course because he was wasting too much time. In chess, it's like giving your opponent a hot slap for thinking too much and wasting too much time when it is already a mate in one, and there is nothing he can do. No doubt that if it happens, it will be on the blogs of chess news.

In a nutshell, Happy Gilmore 2 is all based on Happy coming back to golf after years of not playing, just so he can raise money for his daughter to go to ballet school in Paris, which costs $300,000. The comedy in this movie is not only about happy moments, but the entire character in general, especially Shooter McGavin. If that is not enough to get you to watch the movie, just know that a bunch of stars like Eminem, Post Malone, and many more are playing funny roles. Happy Gilmore 2 brought in about 43 million views on the first day, and I am sure it must have gone up because I did not watch it on the first day.

After watching Happy Gilmore, I felt it would not be bad to watch another Adam Sandler movie. This time, a classic as well, and it was Don't Mess with the Zohan. It is a 2008 movie that talks about how a counter terrorist soldier fakes his death and runs away to America to chase his dream of cutting hair.

Although I watched the Zohan movie years ago, it was nice to watch it again, but this time I understood the inside jokes better. If you are looking for a comedy classic to watch over the coming weekend, you can never go wrong with a Sandler movie.

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On sunday I was catching up on a lot of content I have been putting aside as now Im getting back to blogging and one of those movies was 40 Acres (2024) and honestly it didn't hit like I thought it would, the whole concept seems pretty solid on paper but the execution kinda stumbles in way too many spots, it just tries to be to many things at once. This movie throws you right into this post apocalyptic nightmare where some fungal pandemic killed off most animals, civil war tore everything apart and now farmland is basically more valuable than gold, which sounds badass in theory but then everything gets messy real fast and you start wondering what the hell they were trying to accomplish. You got the Freeman family, these Black Canadian farmers who inherited this sacred piece of land from their ancestors way back, they gotta defend it against these cannibal raiders who want to steal their crops and shit, but the damn movie can't figure out if it wants to be a family drama about survival or a zombie movie or some kind of deep political statement about land rights and history, besides we never see cannibals been cannibals, that would have made things more interesting though.

• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt29634843/

Rottentomatoes Rating

Hailey gets played by Danielle Deadwyler and she is this fierce protective mother who trained all her kids on survival tactics, while her husband Galen tries to keep everyone together as a family unit, but their oldest son Manny is getting restless and wants to find his own path in life which creates tension that should be interesting to watch but ends up feeling repetitive after a while. The cannibals look way more like regular zombies or people who have been wondering around without any food for a while than actual flesh eating humans, the violence gets so over the top that it stops being shocking and starts feeling like cheap thrills just for the sake of it although is what holds this movie together. There is also this whole backstory about the historical significance of getting 40 acres and how it connects to broken promises made to freed slaves after the Civil War, which could have been really powerful if the movie committed to exploring it properly instead of just throwing it in there like an afterthought to make it seem deeper than it actually is.

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Acting is decent between all characters, they all feel like at the same level, Deadwyler brings real intensity to her role as this protective mother but even good performances can not save writing that does not give characters room to grow beyond basic stereotypes. Michael Greyeyes is solid as the father trying to hold everything together but feels way underused for an actor of his caliber, the kids all kinda blend together except for Manny who is supposed to be this rebellious teenager but comes across more whiny than sympathetic to the audience, there are times when you really want him to man up and wanted to smack him, only to then tell his mother "...but I could never hate you", bunch of cliche lines too. Where this movie really loses me completely is when it leans heavy into the cannibal horror stuff because these so called threats feel more like a joke than actual danger, with this cannibals around making dumb decisions that make you wonder how they have survived this long in the first place.

The movie tries to create this sense of constant danger but then undercuts itself by making the enemies feel completely incompetent and then you start predicting exactly how each encounter will play out before it even happens, they attack from the fields and then the kids defend from the top of the house, literally happens three times with one of the kids been the sniper. Its like the producers thought if they just added more gore, action and violence they would keep everyone watching hooked but all it does is turn into this generic apocalyptic action movie that wastes the more interesting family drama that could have turn things around and at some point in the story they wanted too but wasted too much time explaining whats what, like using the flashbacks to give context. There is also this weird tone shift where the movie tries to be both grounded and realistic about survival while featuring these cartoonish villains who feel like they wandered in from a completely different type of film. Although is not the worst of the year it has some merit if you can look past its numerous flaws that plague the entire movie, it does have some cool action scenes too aside from core family relationships that have moments of real emotion, especially when parents are training their children for survival or discussing the history and significance of their ancestral land, which gives the story some much needed heart and soul. The movie does touch on important themes about legacy, inheritance, and ongoing effects of historical injustices, even if it does gives it damn enough time to keep building up momentum.

40 Acres feels like a missed opportunity that had all the right pieces for something really special but could not figure out how to put them together properly in a way that made sense, one of the main characters who was suppose to be their biggest allies only appear about three or four times on the movie including a flashback and they gets killed, its like they wanted to give context and stretch the the movie by using chapters but it doesnt work that well, I mean the plan and intention is there but its the execution, this makes it an ok ish movie although not a bad one, almost like a cable type of movie, it stumbles with poor sound design, inconsistent tone and a script that can not decide what kind of story it wants to tell the audience. Their are many element feels forced and unnecessary, like how Manny got tricked out by a girl when his mother was telling him then hole time, its a trap, turning what could have been a thoughtful family drama into a generic action / horror movie with political pretensions that never quite land where they should. If produce had focused more on character development and emotional weight of what is to be living alone during apocalyptic times while toning down over the top violence, they might have created something memorable instead of just another forgettable entry in the crowded dystopian genre that we get flooded with every year, zombies and apocalyptic theme movies. Acting is solid enough to carry weaker moments but even good performances can not overcome fundamental problems with pacing and script, its a worth watching movie if you are really into post apocalyptic family dramas but do not expect to be blown away by anything that will change the genre, I would give it a 6 out of 10 which puts it in that frustrating category of movies that had potential but wasted it through poor execution and unclear vision about what it wanted to accomplish.

#skiptvads, #inleo, #hive, #dystopian, #apocalyptic, #family, #survival, #canadian, #farming, #cannibals, #zombies, #inheritance, #violence, #cinematography, #sound, #pacing, #horror, #drama, #thriller, #legacy, #land, #action, #flawed, #potential, #disappointing, #repetitive, #messy, #mediocre

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Three years after the not so successful that was Jurassic World Dominion, the franchise is back with another attempt at bringing dinosaurs to the big screen, this time with Scarlett Johansson leading the charge instead of Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard who are thankfully nowhere to be seen, because even though we all love good old Star Lord, Owen Grady didnt work for him last time. Gareth Edwards takes over directing duties and tries to inject some fresh blood into this tired formula but honestly after sitting through this movie I'm wondering if maybe its time to just let these prehistoric beasts stay extinct. The movie sets up this whole expedition to remote equatorial regions where they need to extract DNA from three massive dinosaurs for some kind of medical breakthrough that could cure heart disease, which sounds cool in theory but the execution is just as messy as you would expect from the seventh movie in this series. The magic that made the original Jurassic Park so special back in the 90s is completely gone here, replaced with generic action sequences and characters that feel more like placeholders than actual people you might care about. From the very first scene with that ridiculous Snickers wrapper causing a complete security system meltdown, you know this movie is going to test your patience rather than entertain you but somehow I managed to sit through the entire thing hoping it would get better although it got hilarious as it gets more ridiculous.

• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt31036941/

Rottentomatoes Rating

The story follows two separate groups that eventually merge together in the most predictable way possible, first we got Johansson's team of mercenaries who are hired to go collect DNA samples from living dinosaurs because apparently the technology that cloned dinosaurs from mosquito blood in amber is not good enough anymore. Then theres this random family sailing through dinosaur infested waters because the script needed more characters to put in danger, even though any reasonable person would avoid those areas like the plague after everything thats happened in the previous movies. The family storyline feels completely glued and has no real purpose other than to give us a cute baby dinosaur that the little girl takes home at the end, which makes no sense since the movie establishes early on that dinosaurs can only survive in equatorial regions due to climate and air quality issues. Johansson does her best with the material but her character Zora is just another tough military woman who shoots things and it really felt like the movie was taking advantage of her Black Widow character on the MCU sucking out of that personality, while the supporting cast including the guy from Wicked and Mahershala Ali feel wasted in roles that could have been played by anyone. The corporate villain played by Rupert Friend is so obviously evil from his first scene that you spend the entire movie waiting for him to betray everyone and when he finally does its about as shocking as finding out water is wet.

What really frustrated me about this movie is how it keeps making the same mistakes that killed the previous sequels, mainly focusing way too much on action and spectacle while forgetting to give us characters worth caring about or a story that makes any sense, example what about the damn Dinosaurs, this time around they totally wasted and at the same timer recycle all over again the hybrid species idea. The whole thing about people being bored with dinosaurs is just stupid, like seriously who would get tired of seeing real living dinosaurs walking around but the movie needs this excuse to work so we just have to accept it. The action sequences themselves are decent enough, especially the boat attack scene with the Spinosaurus pack and the final underground chase but they feel disconnected from any emotions or drama because we barely know these people and most of them are either annoying or completely forgettable, yes there were some tense moments but they were so predictable that almost none of them work, the literally use an entire family as punching bag. Edwards does manage to create some real tension during the horror influenced moments, specially when they are hiding and running away from the mutated dinosaur in the facility but these scenes are too few and far between to save the overall movie, also they were so damn dark that reminds me of Godzilla 1998 where you only see the damn feet of the thing. The movie also suffers from terrible pacing issues, jumping between the two storylines without any real rhythm and spending way too much time on exposition dumps where characters explain their tragic backstories to build sympathy we never actually feel, by the time all the characters finally meet up on the island, you realize the movie has wasted most of its runtime on a setup that doesn't pay off in any way.

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The technical aspects are a mix of yeah and nay with some impressive practical effects work but also plenty of bloated CGI moments that makes the dinosaurs look like expensive video game characters rather than living breathing creatures, thats they hole point, make you feel or think this are real creatures but not only they look out of a video game but some very cartoon ish, some of them even reminds me that old TV show from the 90s, Dinasours with the baby Sinclair, damn Im old. The sound is probably the movies strongest element with some cool tension moments and creating this jump scares and tension even when the visuals fall short but even that cant overcome the fundamental problems with the script, lack of context and character development. Something that got me thinking is why would some of the characters be amaze like of example Dr. Loomis who gets some amaze to watch some of this Dinasours when they were in fact all around the world, its like they trying to push the same or similar effects of the first movies, but its hollow because we have seen this exact same scene played out multiple times across six previous movies. What made that moment special in 1993 was that it was the first time anyone had seen dinosaurs brought to life with such realistic effects, now its just another CGI spectacle in a world over saturated with them. The mutations and genetic engineering subplot could have been interesting if the movie actually explored the science behind it or the ethical implications but instead it just serves as an excuse to create more dangerous monsters for the characters to fight, is it Jurassic Park or Monster Park?.

When I think about this franchise as a whole, its clear that everything after the original movie has been going down the hill with no one been able to turn this ship around, yes there has been some small innovations or cool twist here and there but nothing that truly amaze me anymore, the 2015 and 2018 were the last good attempts to this but each sequel feels more desperate and less inspired than the last. Rebirth is definitely better than Fallen Kingdom and Dominion, thats just my opinion, as both were both complete disasters, but thats such a low bar that even going over it doesnt really count for anything, Im not asking for new Dinosaurs but a better drama and more context would help a lot, probably if they do a TV series that connects with the movies just as the Monsterverse is doing would bring more sense to this and future movies. The movie feels very very pre fabricated like a corporate product designed by committee to hit specific demographic targets rather than a story someone actually wanted to tell and it shows its so predictable plot twist and generic characters too. At this point I think Universal needs to either give this franchise a long break or completely re imagine it as something darker and more mature because the current approach of making sanitized family friendly adventure movies with dinosaurs has clearly run out of gas, probably just go back to practical instead of full blown CGI. The audience scores will probably be higher than the critics because people love dinosaurs and nostalgia but that doesnt change the fact that this is a very meh movie that adds nothing new or interesting to the Jurassic Universe, yes you can leave the brain at the door, watch the movie and have a good time but its like trying to dumb down yourself, take the movie for what it is, I did gave it a 7/10 on my thread about it but now its more like a 6/10 that not even watching at the theater with all the experience itself would save this movie.

#skiptvads, #inleo, #hive, #jurassic, #rebirth, #dinosaurs, #scarlett, #johansson, #edwards, #franchise, #sequel, #review, #action, #blockbuster, #effects, #characters, #plot, #boring, #predictable, #mediocre, #disappointing, #generic, #corporate, #nostalgia, #spectacle, #violence, #summer, #movie

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Looking back at the whole experience of watching A Minecraft Movie I gotta say this thing is exactly what you would expect from Warner Brothers taking one of the biggest video game properties in the world and turning it into a corporate money making machine, but somehow they managed to make it watchable enough that I did not shut it down after 15 min in, my expectations were very low thats why it took me so long so last night when I had almost nothing else to watch decided to give it a try, yup it failed. Jack Black shows up as Steve and basically does his usual Jack Black routine cranked up to eleven, screaming and making weird noises while everyone else around him tries to keep up with his energy levels, the guy is literally just playing himself with a blue shirt and calling it a character. Jason Mamoa plays this washed up video game store owner who dresses like he is still stuck in the early 2000s and honestly his performance might be the most entertaining thing in the entire movie, watching him act like a complete manchild while still trying to be cool is both cringy and hilarious at the same time. The rest of the cast including Emma Myers and Sebastian Hansen are fine but they feel more like place holders than actual characters, Danielle Brooks gets the worst deal of all since she basically has nothing to do except drive people around and react to things happening around her.

• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3566834
• Platform: MAX

Rottentomatoes Rating

The visual effects is where this movie really shows its budget and also where it completely falls apart, we go all the way up to then fall badly at times, the Minecraft world itself looks pretty amazing with all those blocky textures and bright colors that pop off the screen, you can tell they probably spent serious money making sure every pig and chicken looked exactly like they do in the game, but then you got real people in the mix standing around in this digital wonderland and it looks absolutely terrible, at least in my opinion, might be my age but not my type of movie, its like someone took actors from a completely different movie and just pasted them into a video game scene, the green screen work is so obvious that it makes those old Spy Kids movies look like cutting edge technology. Every time someone interacts with a Minecraft object or creature it feels fake and distracting and for me its a big problem when the whole point is supposed to be about these people getting transported into this magical world, instead you just keep thinking about how uncomfortable the actors must have been standing in front of green screens pretending to care about digital blocks.

The story is probably the most predictable thing I have seen all year, they basically took the plot from Jumanji, that is a movie many compare it to as Jack Black was part of it in the 2017 version, feels like they basically stripped out anything interesting or surprising out of that movie, a group of people get sucked into a video game world and have to work together to get back home while learning somewhat valuable lessons about friendship and teamwork. There is an evil pig queen who wants to take over everything for reasons that are never really explained beyond her being the designated bad guy, Jack Black has to save his wolf friend Dennis because that is what the script says he needs to do and everyone runs around collecting mcguffins while making jokes about how weird everything is, I know Im just sounding too pessimistic about this one but the internet already agree with my take, Im just the last guy complaining about a bad movie probably. The whole thing feels like it was written by a group of executives who have never played Minecraft but watched a bunch of Youtube videos about it, every reference feels forced and every joke lands as a brick through a window, its like the creators were just checking off boxes on their list of things that need to happen to make this feel like a proper Minecraft adaptation.

What saves this movie from being a complete disaster is that everyone involved seems to understand how ridiculous the whole thing is and just goes with it, Jack Black in particular embraces the absurdity and starts singing random songs and making weird faces, Jason Momoa commits fully to being this loser character who thinks he is way cooler than he actually is. The movie never takes itself seriously enough to become boring, there is always something happening on screen whether its people falling from the sky or getting chased by zombies or watching Jack Black try to explain the rules of Minecraft to confused adults, the pacing moves fast enough that you do not have time to think too hard about how stupid everything is, literally your brain stays at the door and you just go into automatic mode to watch the movie, no need to understand it, its almost like you are watching Tiktok feed but very fast going through shorts. The action scenes are well choreographed even if they do not make much sense, watching people fight skeletons and creepers while trying to build shelter is entertaining, the sound effects of the movie during these sequences actually makes everything feel dangerous and chaotic even when you know nobody is really in danger.

The whole experience of watching this movie really depends on who you are watching this with and what kind of audience shows up, for me its just ridiculous how teenagers lost their minds every time Jack Black said something that sounded like a meme, cheering and clapping like they were at a sporting event instead of a movie from some videos that went viral. I could only imagine how I would walked out because the noise might be too much or too distracting but honestly if you were part of that energy in the room I could understand how fun than it probably be so yeah its a very target age movie, watching kids get excited about seeing their favorite video game characters come to life reminded me why these movies get made in the first place, just like the MCU or DCU, thats my age kind of movie when comics Superhero are now on movies, well there is an entire generation that prefer memes on movies I guess. This is not trying to be high art or win any awards, it is specifically designed to sell toys and get parents to take their children to see something that will keep them entertained for the length of the movie, on that level it absolutely succeeds even if it fails at being a good movie in any traditional sense. I got to respect how at least the movie is honest about what it is, a corporate product designed to make money while providing just enough entertainment value to justify the ticket price and as I have describe before this is just exactly what I was expecting but in my honest opinion not a movie that I would recommend to any adult so why I only gave it a 6.5/10 and Im been generous to be honest.

#skiptvads, #inleo, #hive, #minecraft, #movie, #jackblack, #jasonmamoa, #blocky, #creativity, #cubes, #portal, #pigqueen, #malgosha, #steve, #garbageman, #siblings, #videogame, #greenscreen, #mcguffin, #creepers, #zombies, #crystals, #sequel, #animation, #blockworld, #overworld, #nether, #jetpack

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Twenty some years is a hell of a long time to wait for another movie in this franchise, honestly I wasn't even sure if we'd ever see Danny Boyle come back to direct another one considering how 28 Weeks Later turned out without him, but here we are in 2025 and we finally got our hands on what everyone's been calling one of the most divisive horror movies of the year, well if thats what you are looking for the most likely will be disapointed but in the horror department only tbh, some people are absolutely loving it while others are walking out feeling completely disappointed. The whole thing was shot on iPhones which sounds weird as hell but actually creates this raw gritty look that fits perfectly with the world they have built, reminds me of how the original used those early digital cameras that looked pretty rough but worked for the story. This time around we are dealing with a completely different situation, Britain has been quarantined for nearly three decades and the survivors have been left to fight for themselves while the rest of the world moved on, there is even internet and everything back up and running. The infected have evolved too, they are not just mindless rage monsters anymore, there are these alpha variants that can actually think and plan, plus some slower ones that conserve energy by crawling around eating worms, they even reproduce and have babies, that last one was a big wtf moment.

• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt18177528/

Rottentomatoes Rating

The story develops around this family living on Holy Island, Aaron Taylor Johnson plays Jaime who takes his young son Spike on what is supposed to be a coming of age hunt on the mainland. Jodie Comer plays Isa, the mother who is dying from cancer and basically losing her mind, she is incredible in this role even though her character goes through some really dark stuff. The kid Alfie Williams who plays Spike carries a lot of the movie on his shoulders and does a surprisingly good job for such a young actor, he is dealing with his mother illness while his father is emotionally distant and having an affair, something that I think should have develop way more, the movie lacks a lot of character development and after the ending I hope thats something for a sequel or even a tv series but Im going off road here. Things get spicy when they go to the mainland for this ritual hunt, things go sideways fast and they encounter these new types of infected that are way more dangerous than anything the franchise have seen before. The alpha infected are basically roided out versions of the original rage zombies, they are bigger, stronger and can actually coordinate attacks with other infected, plus they have got some seriously disturbing anatomical differences that the movie doesn't shy away from showing lol. Spike ends up taking his dying mother across the causeway to find this mysterious doctor played by Ralph Fiennes, who has been living among the infected and creating these bone monuments to honor the dead.

What really struck about this movie is how it splits into two completely different experiences, the first half feels like classic 28 Days Later with all the tension and horror you would expect from Danny Boyle returning to this world. The infected scenes are terrifying as they can be, especially when that alpha comes stalking the Spike and his father through the forest, the sound design alone will make you want to hide but everything happens so fast and goes away so easy, thats my biggest complain. Then somewhere around the middle the whole thing shifts gears and becomes this heavy drama about grief and family dysfunction, which isn't necessarily bad but it feels like you are watching a totally different movie, are we zombie focus or at least hunting or are we family drama during apocalypse that if fact is not anymore with the rest of the world functioning very well. The pacing gets weird too, there are long stretches where not much happens followed by these intense action sequences that feel almost disconnected from each other. Ralph Fiennes shows up as this doctor character who has gone a bit crazy living in the wasteland, he has created this whole philosophy about death and remembrance that sounds deep but doesn't really add much to the overall story, one thing is for sure he is here to kill anyone without a cure but keeping the Infected alive and around, second wtf moment. The bone temple stuff looks visually striking but it comes across as pretentious rather than meaningful, its not because he is crazy just because he want to show others he remembers, like they wanted to say something profound about mortality but couldn't figure out what exactly.

The technical aspects of this movie are honestly pretty impressive, shooting the whole thing on iPhones creates this unique visual style that somehow works even though it sounds like a gimmick, the colors are vibrant, there are scenes that are very beautiful even with infected in it. Danny Boyle knows how to use handheld cameras to create chaos and tension, there are these 360 degree shots during action scenes that put you right in the middle of the violence. The production design is fantastic too, the island community feels authentic and lived in while the mainland looks properly post apocalyptic without being too over the top. The infected makeup and practical effects are very good, considering the hunt scenes and hwo infected dramatically died while alerting others, they have clearly evolved the look from the original movies while keeping that 28 series aesthetic style. But all these technical achievements can't really save the story from its problems, there are too many plot threads that don't get resolved and character motivations that don't make much sense, its like they started creating this awesome looking movie and then forgot to create a good story for it. The ending is probably the most confusing part of the whole thing, it introduces these new characters that look like they wandered in from a completely different movie, almost like a weird cross between Power Rangers and some kind of cult. It's so out of left field that I think 90% of the people who watch this movie hate it for being completely insane.

Couple of movies had this effect recently and is one that sux tbh, I found myself feeling pretty conflicted about the whole experience, there was definitely stuff to appreciate here but it doesn't live up to the legacy of the original movie. The first part of the movie delivers everything you want from a 28 series movie, genuine scares, great atmosphere and that feeling of dread that made the original so effective. Aaron Taylor Johnson and Jodie Comer both give solid performances even when the script doesn't always serve them well and the kid actor holds his own against some heavy material. The world building is interesting too, showing how society might actually develop after decades of isolation and constant threat from infected, but the second half just loses momentum, it gets bogged down in family drama that feels forced and philosophical musings that don't really go anywhere meaningful. The violence is brutal when it shows up but it feels disconnected from the emotional side of the story, like they added gore just because people expect it from these movies. Danny Boyle is clearly trying to do something different here rather than just a refresh of the original formula, which I can respect even if it doesn't always work. But at the same time this just cause a couple of interesting questions about survival, humanity and what we are willing to sacrifice to stay alive but it doesn't explore any these themes deeply enough to make them sound to the story so we end up on this void of story with just beautiful scenary and a couple of good action scenes. I mean if you are a hardcore fan of the series you would probably find things and particular scenes to enjoy but don't expect it to recapture the magic of 28 Days Later, this feels more like an ambitious experiment that didn't work out.

#skiptvads, #inleo, #hive, #zombie, #horror, #boyle, #sequel, #infected, #apocalypse, #survival, #britain, #quarantine, #family, #drama, #violence, #evolved, #alpha, #mainland, #island, #dying, #cancer, #hunt, #ritual, #doctor, #bones, #temple, #iphone, #divisive

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Welcome 💖 Bienvenidos

Esta ha sido la primera película que veo de su vida, sé que existen muchas, la recomiendo si no sabes nada de este hombre que marcó un antes y un después en el cine mudo, como parte de la cultura general. Es entretenida, pero tampoco tiene giros inesperados, solo tienes que tener paciencia porque es larga y no tiene nada de acción.

Bloody Cindirella

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