En un mundo de asesinos descubierto por las cuatro películas que conforman la franquicia de "John Wick", surge "Ballerina", el nuevo spin-off de esta franquicia que relata una historia en donde la venganza de una joven mujer llamada "Eve Macarro"; ella siendo niña vio morir a su padre lo cual le genero un gran odio que la llevó hacia la organización Ruska Roma, lugar en donde recibiría un duro entretenimiento para convertirse en un arma letal y así tener la fuerza y agilidad para cumplir su merecida su promesa; esa elección no solo la llevará a enfrentarse con despiadados asesinos, sino también a un mundo regido por muchas reglas.

In a world of assassins revealed by the four films that make up the John Wick franchise, comes Ballerina, the new spin-off of this franchise that tells the story of the revenge of a young woman named Eve Macarro. As a child, she witnessed her father's death, which instilled in her a deep hatred that led her to join the Ruska Roma organization, where she would undergo rigorous training to become a lethal weapon, gaining the strength and agility needed to fulfill her long-awaited promise. This choice will not only pit her against ruthless assassins but also immerse her in a world governed by many rules.

Este film es también conocido como "From the World of John Wick: Ballerina" contó con la elección de Len Wiseman como director, lo cual me causó preocupación porque considero que en ese rol cuenta con tan solo un buen trabajo, me refiero a "Underworld" (2003) y es por eso que mis expectativas era bastante bajas, ya que también existían rumores sobre reacciones poco convincentes en las pruebas realizas con ciertas audiencias, justamente eso originó reshoots los cuales estuvieron realizados por Chad Stahelski, director, guionista, productor y creador de la franquicia, inmediatamente tuve la noción de que él no dejaría fallar este film y así fue. "Ballerina" cuenta con una duración de dos horas y en donde pienso que el primer acto es dirigido por Len y tanto el segundo como el tercero, lo completa Chad; justamente la hora con veinte minutos finales, es suficiente para observar el cambio radical de la producción, ya que en ese tiempo ofrece excelentes escenas de acción que hacen brillar a su protagonista; el talento de Chad es muy evidente, ya que revive al personaje principal que demuestra fuerza y actitud al realizar coreografías de manera destacable, no solo en combates mano a mano, sino en los enfrentamientos con armas.

El guion escrito por Shay Hatten, es bastante genérico, es simple y también aburrido; los personajes nuevos y los ya conocidos no ofrecen absolutamente nada por los pobres diálogos; a pesar de no haberme gustado el guion, de igual manera existe elementos positivos, el cual tiene que ver con que la narrativa es desde el punto de vista de una mujer que está enfocada en la venganza y que le es difícil sentir empatía con todo lo que le rodea, en eso creo que es algo que se puede desarrollar mejor en algún otro film basado en este nuevo personaje. Los diálogos excesivos y forzados en el primer acto, junto a la dirección de Weisman en la primera media hora de metraje, son lo que no me ha gustado de esta película.

This film, also known as "From the World of John Wick: Ballerina," featured ** Len Wiseman** as director, which caused me concern because I consider that he has only one good work in that role, I am referring to "Underworld" (2003), and that is why my expectations were quite low, since there were also rumors about unconvincing reactions in the tests carried out with certain audiences, which led to reshoots that were carried out by ** Chad Stahelski**, director, screenwriter, producer, and creator of the franchise. I immediately had the feeling that he would not let this film fail, and that's how it turned out. "Ballerina" is two hours long, and I think the first act is directed by Len and the second and third acts are completed by Chad. The final hour and twenty minutes are enough to see the radical change in the production, as it offers excellent action scenes that make the protagonist shine. Chad's talent is very evident, as he revives the main character, who demonstrates strength and attitude by performing remarkable choreography, not only in hand-to-hand combat but also in gunfights.

The script written by Shay Hatten is quite generic, simple, and also boring; the new and familiar characters offer absolutely nothing due to the poor dialogue; Despite not liking the script, there are still positive elements, which have to do with the fact that the narrative is from the point of view of a woman who is focused on revenge and finds it difficult to empathize with everything around her. I think this is something that could be developed better in another film based on this new character. The excessive and forced dialogue in the first act, along with Weisman's direction in the first half hour of the film, are what I didn't like about this movie.

No pienso en ser exigente con la actuación de Ana de Armas en su interpretación de "Eve" y es que su personaje no tiene permitido demostrar otro aspecto, sino que es el de cumplir su venganza; su personaje no demuestra vulnerabilidad, pero si el ímpetu de querer sobrepasar cualquier regla o autoridad para realizar su cometido, eso me ha gustado en la manera en como se escribió el personaje y que Ana hace todo lo posible para plasmar en la pantalla, el problema es que de igual manera, pienso que es víctima por lo malo que es el guion, aunque su compromiso como actriz en su primer y completo protagonismo en un film de acción, es algo de admirar porque ella realiza todas sus escenas de combate.

I don't think I'm being too harsh on Ana de Armas' performance as Eve, because her character isn't allowed to show any other side to herself other than her desire for revenge. Her character doesn't show any vulnerability, but she does show a determination to break any rules or defy any authority in order to achieve her goal. I liked the way the character was written and how Ana does her best to bring it to life on screen. The problem is that I also think she is a victim of the poor script, although her commitment as an actress in her first leading role in an action film is something to be admired because she performs all her own fight scenes.

Mentiría si digo que disfruté por completo de Ballerina, pero existe fallas que me hicieron creer que se estuvo cerca de tener un fracaso para esta franquicia; en mi opinión hizo falta minutos para desarrollar mejor la historia, no solo de su protagonista, sino también de otros personajes secundarios y esto me hace pensar en el tiempo perdido en las escenas filmadas para ofrecer un contexto o justificar a esta historia que es parte del mundo creado desde John Wick, lo cual posiblemente se pudo hacer mejor sin afectar el desarrollo de la película, a pesar de todo lo dicho, de igual manera celebro la decisión de salvar esta película al ofrecer a Chad las riendas de este proyecto, lo que fue muy acertado y me hace pensar que posiblemente no se esté tomando buenas decisiones con respecto a que directores y escritores sean parte de este ya gran franquicia de acción. Este segundo spin-off no fue perfecto, pero espero que puedan aprender de los errores para realizar producciones de calidad en los próximos a estrenar, para así llegar a lo que espero sea el final de John Wick cuando se estrene el quinto film. 

I would be lying if I said I thoroughly enjoyed Ballerina, but there are flaws that made me believe it was close to being a failure for this franchise. in my opinion, it lacked the time needed to better develop the story, not only of its protagonist but also of other secondary characters, and this makes me think of the time wasted in scenes filmed to provide context or justify this story that is part of the world created by John Wick, which could possibly have been done better without affecting the development of the film. Despite all that has been said, I still applaud the decision to save this film by giving Chad the reins of this project, which was very wise and makes me think that perhaps the right decisions are not being made regarding which directors and writers are part of this already great action franchise. This second spin-off was not perfect, but I hope they can learn from their mistakes to produce quality films in the future, so that we can reach what I hope will be the end of John Wick when the fifth film is released.

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I finally got around to watching Bring Her Back (2025) a very very disturbing movie tbh, the second movie from the Philippou brothers after their breakout hit Talk to Me (2022) and let me tell you this thing is a completely different beast than what I was expecting, they really put the bar higher. Going into this one I was pretty pumped because Talk to Me was such a fun movie to watch and not just scary, it had all these creepy moments but still felt like something you could enjoy without been tense all the time, you know what I mean. But Bring Her Back takes a much more serious approach to horror, its like the brothers decided to show us they could do more than just spooky fun times, they wanted to prove they could make something that would stick with you long after you watch the movie and terrorize your mindthe kind of movies that gives you a hard time to sleep. The movie follows these two step siblings Andy and Piper who end up in foster care after their dad dies in this really messed up shower accident and they get placed with this woman Laura who seems nice enough at first but obviously has some serious issues going on, she is the scare one right from the start, gave me that vibe you just cant trust her. What starts as a slow character study turns into this really disturbing psychological horror that deals with grief, loss and how far someone will go to bring back what they have lost, the title pretty much gives that away but the execution is what makes it work. The first half hour is all about building these relationships and getting to know these characters, which some people might find slow but I think its necessary for what comes later because when this movie decides to get nasty it really goes for it.

• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt32246771/

Rottentomatoes Rating

The thing that really impressed me about this movie is how the Philippou brothers managed to create something that feels completely different from Talk to Me while still maintaining their signature style. Sally Hawkins plays Laura the foster mother and she is absolutist incredible in this role, she manages to be sympathetic and terrifying at the same time which is not easy, you can see the desperation in her eyes when she talks about her dead daughter Kathy who drowned in the backyard pool and since then have been dry to the bone. The way she manipulates these kids is so subtle at first, like when she lies about little things or excludes Andy from family photos but it builds into this really sinister campaign to get rid of him so she can keep Piper for her twisted ritual. Billy Barrett who plays Andy does a great job as the protective older brother who is dealing with his own trauma from an abusive father and Sora Wong as Piper brings this vulnerability to the role that makes you really care about what happens to her. The performances across the board are solid, even the kid playing Oliver who doesn't speak for most of the movie manages to be creepy as hell just through his physicality and those dead eyes. What really works about the character development is how everyone is dealing with grief in their own way, Andy is trying to protect his sister from more pain, Piper is adjusting to a new life without her dad and Laura is so consumed by losing her daughter that she's willing to do anything to get her back. The movie takes its time establishing these relationships because it needs you to care about these people before it starts putting them through absolute hell, and trust me when I say this movie puts its characters through some serious shit.

When Bring Her Back finally decides to show its true colors, it becomes this really disturbing exploration of how grief can turn someone into a monster. The whole ritual aspect involves this creepy Russian video that Laura found somewhere and without spoiling too much lets just say it involves possession, reanimation and some really gross practical effects that will make you twist a bit and close an eye while watching in your seat. The kid playing Oliver starts eating everything in sight including some things that will make you want to look away and the prosthetics work is so good that it looks painfully real. Danny and Michael Philippou know how to make you uncomfortable, they let the camera focus on these disturbing images just long enough to really get under your skin, its not just shock value though because everything lift up the story about how far Laura will go to hear her daughter call her mom again. The gore effects are very good, way more brutal than anything in Talk to Me, not tryning to compare them because this movie is something more serious, they use practical effects that look so convincing you will feel pain watching some of these scenes. There is this whole mythology around the ritual that involves circles and specific death conditions, Laura has to recreate how her daughter died and the possessed Oliver has to consume the corpse and then transfer the soul into the new body. Its fucked up but it makes "sense" within the world they have created and the fact that Laura is following this like a YouTube tutorial adds this dark ish comic element to the whole ritual, its ridiculous to think now days how the word "tutorial" has basically been coin by YouTube or become a synomym of YouTube Video. The visual effects team deserves major props because some of the stuff they show is genuinely hard to watch, especially when Oliver starts chewing on knives and breaking his teeth, that scene alone will make you cringe so hard you will feel it in your own mouth.

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After the first half of the movie is where things really go off the rails and I mean that in the best possible way because this movie earns its brutal ending through everything that happens before, the climax involves a car accident that comes out of nowhere that remind me a lot of Talk To Me ending like if they Philippou brothers wanted to add a trade mark, literally and then we get this really intense chase sequence where Piper has to go through this house while being hunted by Laura. The fact that Piper is vision impaired adds this extra layer of tension because she can't see the horrible things happening around her, she is walking through this nightmare completely unaware of how bad things have gotten. When Andy gets killed its devastating because we have spent the whole movie watching him try to protect his sister and then suddenly he is gone and Piper on her own. The ending is very emotional for a horror movie, when Piper calls Laura mom it breaks something in her and she finally realizes what she has become, its this moment of clarity that comes too late to save anyone but at least provides some kind of resolution, really fucked up. The final scene with Laura holding her daughter's corpse in the pool is disturbing, its like she finally gets to say goodbye properly even though she is dying in the process, I know some people might find the ending too cheese but I think it fits the tone of the movie perfectly, this isn't a story about good triumphing over evil, its about how grief can destroy everything in its path including the person experiencing it, every other mayor character on the movie was going through their own levels of trauma.

I had been sitting on this movie for a few days and this was the second attempt to watch it because the first time it really freak me out, its not scary its just Laura and Oliver, her smile, his dead eyes, I think the Philippou brothers have created something really special here, its not going to be for everyone because its so mess up and emotionally heavy but if you're looking for horror that actually has some meaning and not just cheap scares and possessions then this movie is worth watching, just sit tight and hold on. The movie works on multiple levels, its a effective psychological thriller, a family drama about loss and protection, and a really gnarly body horror movie all rolled into one package. Sally Hawkins gives what might be the best performance in a horror movie this year but sadly this is not a so much popular movie, she makes Laura sympathetic even when she's doing terrible things and that is not easy to pull off. The practical effects are some of the best I have seen recently, they are gross and disturbing but they add to the story instead of just being there for shock value. My only real complaint is that there was not much context about how Andy and Piper became brothers, why their dad died, probably if they have added more context to it, it takes a while to get going and some of the character development feels a little slow but once it finds its rhythm it never lets up its like when you think the movie got creepy enough it finds ways to get even more creepy. I really enjoy how even on dark scenes the lighting was awesome and lets you watch exactly whats happening even when its showing you horrible things, and the sound is very clear too especially considering how important audio is for Piper's character. This is definitely a movie that will give you troubles to sleep after you are done watching it, its the kind of horror that stays with you. If you loved Talk to Me then you should definitely check this out, just be prepared for something much darker and more serious than what you might be expecting, I give Bring Her Back a solid 8/10, its not perfect but its a really strong follow up that proves the Philippou brothers are the real deal when it comes to horror movies.

#skiptvads, #inleo, #hive, #bringherback, #philippou, #brothers, #horror, #film, #grief, #loss, #psychological, #thriller, #slowburn, #gore, #practical, #effects, #sallyhawkins, #andy, #piper, #foster, #mother, #possession, #ritual, #drowning, #emotional, #dark, #disturbing, #cinematography, #sounddesign

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• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt30955489/

Rottentomatoes Rating

At first I though the time loop was going to be the same over and over but I think they did well by trying to spice things up with multiple scenarios, truth is that the script and story didnt have to be work out too much, its an existing game so its more about the execution as I mention. Between all the kills by a masked psycho, sometimes by monsters, sometimes just by doing dumb stuff they wake up and gotta do the night all over again, to the point that they waste themself like its a reset button but always having that uncertain if in fact they going to bounce back, thats wild getting to that point where you kill yourself. The kills are wild too with some of them straight up gross in a good way and the movie doesn’t shy away from showing you the gory details. There are also some kills that were bit ridiculous, like the water scene, how they weaponize water and have people explode like meat balls, it was a big WTF moment for me, I laughed and cringed at the same time, it’s that kinda movie where you’re never sure if you should be scared or just having a good time. The practical effects are killer, which is rare these days when everything’s just CGI, so I think thats a big plus for the movie, even the monsters look decent and there’s a bunch of different ones, so you never really know what’s coming next, I also liked how their definition and creation of this type of zombie is different that the common ones.

After watching the movie I'm not going to run and play the game but it does makes me curious about the story grounds, because the reason these friends are even out there is kinda dumb, “Hey, let’s go poke around the place where my sister vanished, what could go wrong?” and nobody in the group seems to have an ounce of common sense, well at times the only one who was trying to figure out things by reason was Abe but mostly because he wants so safe his own ass. The characters are kinda bland, you got the main girl looking for her sister, her ex who is just there to pick up what ever opportunity he may have with her, a couple that hates each other and a psychic friend who gets the worst of it. I didn’t care much if any of them made it out, which is probably not what the movie was going for, but thats just how it made me feel, probably also because I felt the characters where kinda childish, there was nobody waiting for looking for them so didnt look like real reasons to get out of there, besides they knew it was a survivors game so they just needed to find their way to weather the storm. The acting’s alright, nothing special with a lot of that classic horror movie yelling and running and making terrible decisions, which, if you’re into that, you will enjoy the movie.

Because its a kinda of repetitive movie I guess there is not much to explain about the scenes but the movie does this thing where it tries to be all self aware, dropping little nods to other horror movies and even making jokes about how many times they have died, I doubt thats part of the game story so its a good creative addition. The pacing is a little all over the place, its also a movie that starts declining. The first half is what opens the door to this wild place they get to and its really interesting with lots of action, new threats every night but then it kinda drags in the middle, like they ran outta ideas and just decided to montage a bunch of the deaths instead of showing them, I think the hole story of how everything became to be could have been explain better and extend it to make the second half more interesting. I also wanted more of the crazy stuff, less talking about feelings but also more context both how Melanie got lost and why she ran away, yeah we know she had all this family problems but may be if they could have done like a flash back of what was going on would have been more interesting, to me it all points to the game itself not having enough good dialogue and the movie had to improvise. The ending tries to tie everything back to the game, with some hints that this is all a prequel or whatever, but it’s kinda half baked and doesn’t really land. It does leaves the door open for a sequel, which I’d probably watch, but would it really be necessary?.

One thing that did bug me was how dark some of the scenes were, thats expected but better lighting would help a lot specially with the underground scenes, like, literally too dark to see what the hell was going on. I get that it’s supposed to be spooky but if I can’t tell who’s getting ripped apart, what’s the point? Also the rules of the time loop are kinda all over the place, sometimes they remember stuff, sometimes they don’t, sometimes dying means you turn into a monster, sometimes it doesn’t so I wonder if its just like that on the game? I comment this out of reason but I also think the uncertain makes it more interesting, I stopped trying to make sense of it after a while and just went with the flow. There’s a lot of talk about trauma and grief and all that but it never really goes anywhere, just kinda sits there in the background while people get picked off. Its just too much talking trying to figure out things and getting stuck in places, like they were going through multiple escape rooms one after another and this might become boring for some people as the movie goes, this is another aspect I would explain to anyone who wants to watch it.

This is the type of movie that you have to leave your brain at the door of the room so if you’re looking for a super smart, scary movie with deep characters and a plot that makes sense, this ain’t it, this is not the scary movie where you going to find your new scream queen. But if you want to see a bunch of idiots get murdered in creative ways, multiple times, pushing them to the point they kill themself to reset time, with some cool monsters and a time loop gimmick, you’ll have a good time. It’s not perfect, but it’s never boring to the point that makes you stop it and I think once this movie hits streaming its going to have good numbers, this is the type of movie that does well on streaming, recently I gave it a though of how big the streaming audience compared to going to the theater and at the same time less demanding of movies ending up with movies like this doing great numbers once they hit streaming but not so great at the Boxoffice, I guess the reach they have on streaming has to do with it too. I’d say it’s a solid 7/10, but no more than that even if you have play the game. I liked not knowing what was gonna happen next, not the best horror movie ever, but definitely not the worst, and sometimes that’s enough.

#skiptvads, #inleo, #hive, #untildawn, #horror, #movie, #timeloop, #slasher, #monsters, #gore, #kills, #characters, #acting, #story, #game, #adaptation, #loop, #friends, #psychic, #clown, #wendigo, #practicaleffects, #cabin, #survival, #repetitive, #foundfootage, #director, #entertainment

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Of course, more nerdy stories, and who better to lead this story than the man who runs a comic book store and knows a lot about the multiverse and other things relating to that.

Then things changed from season 9 to 12, where he became a part of the group after squatting in Howard's mother's house, where he served as her caregiver and close friend, which was a little bit weird but in a funny sense as Howard kept getting jealous about Stuart's close relationship with his mom.

How things have changed for Stuart now. Starring in a show as the lead, coming from being a supportive character on The Big Bang Theory. I genuinely hope this TV show gets off on a good start and he gets the accolade he deserves for his outstanding acting style in making the awkward look funny.

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Moving on with Andor Season 2 episodes 7 through 9, man I gotta say it's kinda a mixed bag and honestly left me feeling pretty let down compared to what we got in Season 1 but as I have mention on the past days, this Season 2 has its own moments its just that its not a solid, you really need to put the work to figure out things and have them make sense, specially with Gormn rebels. Like we all knew what was gonna happen from the jump, no real surprises there and it kinda drags on way too long before it finaly gets to the point we're all waiting for. The whole Gorman resistance thing it's as French as it gets, seriously just call the city Paris already, I mean name me one protagonist you actually give a damn about but in contrast this season make me care more about the bad guys than Cassian and Bix, couldn't find one to root for on their side. The whole resistance vibe felt forced and kinda ridiculous, like they were trying way too hard to make it dramatic but ended up just being a bit of a joke considering the entire Plaza scream what was going to happen, AGAIN!!! I mean the hole massive killing. Then there's this whole setup with the Empire wanting to mine calcite for the Death Star, which we already know about so there's zero suspense in watching it all unfold. The pacing feels off too, like they're stretching out scenes that should be tighter, making everything feel bloated when it should be lean and mean, its like they told you the ending but then they move into the details, like the rebel missions. Season one had this incredible tension where every scene mattered but here it feels like they're just filling time until they get to the inevitable massacre we all saw coming.

• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9253284/
• Platform: Disney+

But hey it's not all bad and probably I'm just hammering down on the obvious things, the show still nails SOME of that gritty Star Wars atmosphere and the way it ties into the bigger universe is kinda cool if you're a hardcore fan. The Gorman massacre scenes hit hard visually even if the story around it felt a bit off, you can see the budget on screen with those practical effects and crowd scenes. The political stuff with Mon Mothma stepping up and calling out Emperor Palpatine directly that's classic Star Wars and it's done pretty well here. The tension in the Senate, the propaganda machine, the betrayal elements, it all adds some weight to the story even if it doesn't quite land with the impact it should. And the little details like the reprogramming of that security droid into K2SO, that's a nice touch that connects with Star Wars battles where men connects with tech and other Alien living things. The way they show the Empire's false flag operation on Gorman is actually pretty clever, using their own troops as casualties to justify the crackdown. Syril's character storyline from true believer to disillusioned victim has some good moments, especially when he realizes Dedra has been lying to him the whole time, they somehow did manage to make the empire story side way more interesting. But still it feels like the show is trying to do too much at once and ends up spreading itself thin across multiple storylines that don't quite connect.

What really bugs me is how the characters don't get the development they deserve, Syril for example starts off interesting but then just falls face first when he was confuse and had no idea what was going on, his relationship with Dedra turn very interesting at first specially when they had this fight ish with Syril's mother when she went visiting, I even felt a bit for her because latter on she also understood Dedra was no good for her son. The obvious remain as Syril obsession with Cassian should have been more emphasize as this driving force but when they finally meet it's just stumble by accident in a cafe that ends with him getting shot by someone else entirely, classic OF FUCK NOT YOU!!! Not Now!!! and then someone else saves Cassian. Dedra's psychological breakdown after orchestrating the massacre is there but feels rushed but I still love it because it does gives you that feeling like "Finally she is getting what she deserve". When it comes to Cassian, he is supposed to be the heart of the rebellion but this season makes him seem more like a reluctant participant who is just going through the motions, mostly a rebel who eventually wants out of it and have gotten lost, it happens many times in war that those fighting after so long can't even remember how everything started and why they still fighting, so for me it's like they're just ticking off plot points instead of letting the story breathe and grow naturally. Bix leaving Cassian at the end should be this heartbreaking moment but it feels more like a plot convenience to get her out of the way for Rogue One, as a fan who doesnt know much about lore and how this connects to other series, Bix leaving honestly made me think there was going to be a third season but its ok, also I fell Diego Luna did a fantastic job on this scene showing how devastated he is but at the same time like "I understand why you did it" its like she leaving refuel him and gave him motive to keep in the rebellion, at least thats how I see it.

So yeah overall I'm in the middle with season two, not fully disappointed but its like season one set the bar so damn high and this batch of episodes just doesn't live up to that standard. I'm not trying to say they ran out of imagination because it still feels like Star Wars but most things were very predictable and there is also a lot of character development wasted and untouch, same goes for location development like Yavin. The pacing is off, the characters feel flat and the big moments don't hit like they should when you're watching. Still if you are a casual Star Wars fan there's enough here to keep you interested, the universe building is solid and there are some cool callbacks to season one. The way they handle the transition from scattered resistance to organized rebellion has its moments even if it's not as smooth as it could be. Mon Mothma's transformation from cautious politician to rebel leader is probably the strongest character development in these episodes. The production value with the customs, locations, secret meetings and even during the massacre sequence where you really feel the chaos and brutality of the Empire's response. But honestly it feels like they are more concerned with setting up Rogue One than telling a compelling story in its own right, like they stumble with this awesome season one that was gold and now they have to tell everyone "we have to shut it down" because this other might give us more rating. I'd give these episodes a solid 7 out of 10, yes the series picks up by A LOT!! compared to the first episodes so I hope the last three are good enough for closing, sad it wont have any more seasons.

#skiptvads, #inleo, #hive, #andor, #season, #episodes, #cassian, #empire, #ghorman, #rebellion, #starwars, #syril, #bix, #massacre, #force, #healer, #yavin, #dedra, #mothma, #palpatine, #coruscant, #rogueone, #timejump, #fight, #brutal, #politics, #resistance, #sacrifice

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Desde hace unos meses soy fan de las novelas coreanas, se me hacen muy frescas en las historias además de que al ser cortas las puedo ver de principio a fin en muy poco tiempo.

Así que si Disfrutas los dramas coreanos y te gustan las series cortas, este post es para ti.

El día de hoy les quiero hablar de una serie coreana llamada "Esta bien no estar bien", la cual llamó mucho mi atención por los temas que aborda.

Esta bien No estar bien, es algo que muchos hemos pensado por lo menos una vez en nuestra vida, ya que el no estar bien es parte de una gama de sentimientos que existen en nuestras vidas.

La claridad u oscuridad de nuestro ser puede estar reflejada en esta serie, muchas veces no nos atrevemos siquiera a pensar que existen estos sentimientos dentro de si, en lo personal se que existen muchas tonalidades en mi interior, desde las mas claras hasta las mas oscuras.

La salud mental es algo difícil de diagnosticar, y puede llegar a ser muy frágil, tanto como el pétalo de una rosa o muy fuerte como la coraza de una tortuga.

Esta serie coreana protagonizada por Seo Ye-ji y Kin Soo-hyun trata de la vida de una pareja de hermanos, el mayor con autismo y el menor quien cuida de el, es enfermero de un hospital psiquiátrico, quienes cada año se cambian de domicilio debido a que huyen de los recuerdos del asesinato de su madre.

Conocen a una famosa escritora de cuentos infantiles quien sin saberlo ya se conocían de tiempo atrás y esta relacionada con el asesinato de su madre.

Es muy interesante que relacionen su vidas con diferentes cuentos infantiles, en realidad no se si existan pero si eran buenos.

Al final se descubre quien fue el asesino y aprenden a aceptarse, vivir juntos, ser una familia por elección.

Esta serie cuenta con 16 episodios de 60 minutos cada uno y la pueden encontrar en Netflix, las actuaciones son muy buenas.

La actuación de Oh Jung-se como Moon Sang-tae el hermano autista tiene muchos matices, puede pasar de la felicidad al llanto, el hecho de que sea autista no le resta importancia, por el contrario te deja ver que es como cualquier persona, que puede llevar su vida de una manera normal, claro con ciertas restricciones.

Espero que se den tiempo de ver este drama y les guste, es bastante interesante y lo mejor es que son pocos episodios.

Aquí les dejo el trailer de esta serie, nos vemos el siguiente post, saludos.

Portada realizada en canva con imagen tomada de https://www.filmaffinity.com/es/filmimages.php?movie_id=675832, traducido con DeepL Translate

English

I've been a fan of Korean dramas for a few months now, I find them very fresh in the stories and because they are short, I can watch them from beginning to end in a very short time.

So if you enjoy Korean dramas and you like short series, this post is for you.

Today I want to tell you about a Korean series called “It's okay not to be okay”, which caught my attention because of the topics it deals with.

It's okay not to be okay, is something that many of us have thought at least once in our lives, since not being okay is part of a range of feelings that exist in our lives.

The clarity or darkness of our being can be reflected in this series, many times we do not even dare to think that these feelings exist within ourselves, personally I know that there are many shades within me, from the lightest to the darkest.

Mental health is something difficult to diagnose, and it can be as fragile as the petal of a rose or as strong as the shell of a turtle.

This Korean series starring Seo Ye-ji and Kin Soo-hyun is about the life of a pair of brothers, the older one with autism and the younger one who takes care of him, a nurse at a psychiatric hospital, who move every year because they are running away from the memories of their mother's murder.

They meet a famous children's story writer who unbeknownst to them, they have known each other for a long time and is linked to the murder of her mother.

It is very interesting that they relate their lives to different children's stories, I don't really know if they exist but they were good.

In the end they find out who the murderer was and they learn to accept each other, live together, be a family by choice.

This series has 16 episodes of 60 minutes each and you can find it on Netflix, the performances are very good.

Oh Jung-se's performance as Moon Sang-tae the autistic brother has many nuances, he can go from happiness to crying, the fact that he is autistic does not make him less important, on the contrary he lets you see that he is like anyone else, he can lead his life in a normal way, of course with certain restrictions.

I hope you take the time to watch this drama and like it, it is quite interesting and the best thing is that there are only a few episodes.

Here I leave the trailer of this series, see you in the next post, greetings.

Cover made in canva with image taken from https://www.filmaffinity.com/es/filmimages.php?movie_id=675832, translated with DeepL Translate.

I couldn't watch it at theaters and was neither sure about so I finally got around to watching Thunderbolts at home and honestly its kinda refreshing to see a Marvel movie that feels different, is not super hero over the top and builds a connection with the characters, specially when they feel like regular people. The MCU has been pretty rough in the past few years but phase 5 is turning out very good so far with a few exceptions, prior most movies go from meh to straight up terrible and dont even get me started on Quantumania, that thing was ok to a certain point but at the same time so disappointing because of all the wasted potential. Now Thunderbolts, its actually decent and almost touching very good, I mean decent is already good to watch although with all the Avengers movies the bar was set very high, which is saying something these days. The movie follows Yelena Belova, whos basically feeling empty inside after losing her sister Natasha and she gets thrown into this weird situation with other misfit characters like John Walker, Ghost and some guy named Bob who turns out to be way more than he seems, the crazy thing is that nobody remember Bob even existed. What I really liked about this movie is that it doesnt try to be some massive universe changing event or rescue the universe from some Alien invasion, its all about experimental super soldiers go wrong but it also focuses on these broken people trying to figure out their shit and thats honestly what Marvel needed right now, something more ground to earth and still with this super power related topic.

• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt20969586/

Rottentomatoes Rating

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Source What really impressed me about Thunderbolts is how it manages to feel like a complete story while still setting up future stuff without being obnoxious and it never feels rush, every scene takes its time to develop or at least what matters, the only character that gets jumping from one place to another without much context is Valentina but I could really care less about her. When this team becomes the "New Avengers" at the end feels earned and the MCU is not that small so it gives the opportunity to keep exploring other super heroes instead of just been stuck with the OG ones, that was probably the super hero exhausting problem that they kept hammering the same characters on every Avenger movie to the point they had to do End Game and throw every one of them into a movie, and then what next??. Yes there are some characters recycled like Bucky Barnes showing up as the voice of reason works well and connects Thunderbolts with the original Avenger movies, even if Sebastian Stan is basically just playing the responsible adult trying to keep everyone from killing each other and that role also fits his character at this point in the MCU, I knew he wouldn't keep the hole politician role. The movie also does a good job of balancing the team screen time with everyone getting their moments to shine, even if some characters like Ghost and Taskmaster feel a bit underused, I mean Taskmaster dies in the first 10 minutes. The whole mental health angle with Bob and the void is handled way better than I expected, instead of just being a generic "power corrupts" story, its actually about dealing with trauma and depression which gives the climax some real emotional weight. The fact that they defeat the void not through violence but through connection and understanding is very mature angle for a Marvel movie that you dont see very often and it actually makes sense for these characters who are all dealing with their own emotional baggage and way over powered by Sentry, there was NO WAY they could defeat him one on one, yes might sound like a cheat code but it was all about how the story build up from the beginning.

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Source I gotta say the acting in this movie is pretty damn good, with the leader actor Florence Pugh just absolutely crushes it as Yelena, she's got this way of making you feel every trauma and every emotional beat without it feeling forced or fake. Lewis Pullman as Bob slash Sentry really surprised me, because making someone who can basically destroy the world feel like a scared, messed up guy isn't easy, but he pulls it off without making it feel cheesy, on top of this consider he develops two characters, we didnt see much about Void but still he did both. Even the side characters don't suck, Wyatt Russell makes John Walker way less punchable than he was in that Falcon show and Hannah John Kamen actually makes Ghost interesting even though she doesn't get much to do. Julie Louis Dreyfus is having a blast being the bad guy and she makes Valentina feel dangerous without going full cartoon villain, she is just this cold government over powered woman who thinks she is saving the world by being a total bitch about it, specially how she tricks everyone with her press conference at the end, I honestly didn't see that coming and its clear Thunderbolts are not the right Avengers as how they basically accept still playing the same game as Valentina where they now "own her", we know that wont be the end of Valentina fighting over power. This movie doesn't try to be ten different things at once, it knows what it wants to be and just goes for it which is something Marvel forgot how to do somewhere between Endgame and whatever the hell Quantumania was supposed to be. The whole thing moves at a good pace, you get your character stuff mixed in with your action stuff and it doesn't feel like it's dragging or rushing through anything important. It feels like actual people made this movie instead of some committee trying to set up seventeen different sequels and that makes all the difference when you're watching it.

#skiptvads, #inleo, #hive, #actually, #marvel, #these, #characters, #movie, #good, #instead, #whole, #feels, #character, #movies, #way, #without, #being, #story, #thunderbolts, #thing, #basically, #trying, #future, #makes, #time, #solid, #feel, #real

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Im back with another batch of Andor episodes, I know I know its been a while since it aired but I really enjoy the rollercoster this series was and honestly I wasn't expecting another damn time jump but here we are, jumping forward a whole year again, this time landing us in 3BBY which puts us even closer to Rogue One territory at least thats my speculation as Im not so sure on a few details neither an expert on Star Wars. The thing is I think I get why they did it, revolutions don't happen overnight and if they are trying to sync up with Rogue One by the end of this season it makes sense to keep moving the timeline forward but this even give me vibes why there wont be any more Andor season, well by now we all know there wont be a third one. Episode 4 basically feels like a season premiere all over again, bad if you ask me but it does mean we gotta get confy again with everyone and their new situations and some of the momentum from those killer first three episodes kinda gets lost in the shuffle. Specially with Bix is still dealing with her trauma from Gorst's torture, she is having these nightmares where she is seeing the face of some Imperial soldier that Cassian apparently killed on a recent mission and you can tell she's struggling with the moral weight of everything they are doing its like she doesn't know on what side she is in anymore, to me is kinda annoying too. At the same time Cassian is trying to be protective but also trying to keep inside within all the violence which creates this tension between them that feels really exhausting, like these are two people who love each other but are being pulled in different directions by the war and their own opinions on what might be right or wrong or if anything makes any sense anymore.

• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9253284/
• Platform: Disney+

Saw Gerrera shows up again on D'Qar, which is cool because we get to see more of his partisan group and how they operate, plus we learn more about his backstory and why he is so fucked up. Turns out he was a prisoner in work camps on Onderon during the Clone Wars and there was this fuel leak of rhydonium that made everyone's skin burn and itch but instead of running away like everyone else, young Saw stayed because he liked the feeling. Now he's basically addicted to inhaling rhydonium fumes, which explains why he needs that breathing mask in Rogue One and why he is so paranoid and crazy all the time, the dude's been slowly poisoning himself for years. Wilmon gets sent there to teach Saw's people how to use this fuel extraction device but of course Saw kills the engineer who was supposed to learn it because the guy was an Imperial spy, that part I never saw it coming so now Wilmon's stuck there been the only one who knows how to operate the straction device without any other option. The whole sequence where Saw and Wilmon are huffing rhydonium together is both hilarious and crazy how Wilmon gives in and feels this kind of rage, because you can see how this is Saw's way of dealing with all the trauma and loss, he's basically trying to feel close to his dead sister Steela by bathing himself in this explosive fuel that reminds him of her. Forest Whitaker is just incredible in these scenes, he makes Saw feel like this broken man who has been carrying the weight of the rebellion for so long that he has lost pieces of himself besides everything else, he is not the same guy anymore all because been with the rebellion fighting all this long.

The political matters on Coruscant get very delicate to the point that if and when Mon Mothma openly talks about Ghorman situation they going after her inmediately, because you've got all these different factions playing chess with each other and nobody really knows what the other side is planning. Mon Mothma is trying to get support for repealing the emergency measures that Palpatine put in place after the Aldhani heist but she is running into cheap excuses and walls of thought from senators who are too scared to go against the Emperor and they also know she wont hold herself for too long if the times come and could endanger all of them at once. Meanwhile Luthen and Kleya are dealing with this crisis where one of the art pieces they bugged in Scolden's collection turned out to be a forgery, which means he is gonna have his whole collection authenticated and they will find their listening device. This leads to one of the most tense sequence at Scolden's party where Kleya has to remove the bug while Luthen distracts everyone and of course Krennic shows up to make things even more complicated, I truly though Kleya was going to get caught on this mission. The whole party scene is like watching a spy movie all in one scene, with all these different conversations happening at once and everyone trying to figure out what everyone else knows not only at the knowledge level but on whose side they are. Lonnie, who's the ISB agent that is secretly working for Luthen has to help Kleya get the bug out while pretending like nothing happening and you can tell he is shitting bricks terrified that he is gonna get caught.

#skiptvads, #inleo, #hive, #andor, #season2, #episodes, #ghorman, #timejump, #cassian, #bix, #luthen, #syril, #dedra, #rebellion, #empire, #massacre, #gorst, #torture, #revenge, #cinta, #vel, #saw, #guerrera, #partisans, #coruscant, #deathstar, #krennic, #spycraft

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Welcome 💖 Bienvenidos

• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7181546

Rottentomatoes Rating

The action sequences in this movie are absolutely insane and I'm not exaggerating when I say they live up to the John Wick standard, specially the grenade scenes at a secret gun shop. There's this early scene in an ice themed nightclub that feels very much like something you would see John go through fighting multiple guys and getting fucked up but then they take it to this snowy European village that looks like it came straight out of Frozen, which sounds weird but works perfectly imo. The contrast between the cozy, picturesque setting and the brutal violence happening is both funny and thrilling at the same time. Anna de Armas handles all the fight choreography very well, you can tell she put in serious work to make this believable and the movie doesn't shy away from showing her getting beat up either. She takes hits, she bleeds, she gets thrown around, but she keeps getting back up and finding ways to win through sheer determination and creativity, yes I know its not as bloody as a John Wick movie but she is a girl, I doubt its good business for movies and tv content seen her getting as bloody and badly wounded as John. The flamethrower scene is probably the best action sequence in the whole movie and it reminds me a lot of Chapter 4, it's extended and brutal and everything you want from a John Wick style fight. They also cranked up the gore factor compared to the other films, bodies exploding left and right, which I'm totally here for, also the weapons variety is impressive too, from ice skates to grenades to those badass flamethrowers, Eve uses whatever she can get her hands on. What I really appreciated was how they justified her ability to take down all these trained killers, it's not just movie magic, they show her using the environment, being sneaky, and yes, kicking dudes in the balls when necessary.

Now let's talk about the plot because last night as I was watching the movie thread about it and one of the first comments was "What about the story?", because that's where things get a bit shaky and Im not going to sugar coat it, at the begining the movie does feel weak because its all fresh faces for the franchise so you dont get the John Wick Universe effect right away, it's your basic revenge tale, nothing groundbreaking here but it serves its purpose well enough. The whole thing about Eve not knowing her dad was part of the Chancellor's group until later feels like it should have been a bigger deal but it kinda gets glossed over. Same with the sister subplot, Catalina Sandino Moreno shows up as Eve's sister who's also part of the cult, they have one fight scene and then she dies, felt like a waste of a good actress but her sister and dad dying this early gives the oportunity for a Prequel I think. Norman Reedus is in this too but his role is pretty small, he's got this whole thing with his daughter that mirrors Eve's situation but it doesn't really add much to the overall story. The movie tries to do too much with these side plots when it should have just focused on Eve's revenge mission so there are multiple characters that could have been bigger but I could understand they wanted to build up Eve as the action character and get John Wick involve if not the movie just doesnt work because EVERYONE who have seen this movie does because of John, plain simple. Gabriel Byrne as the main villain is fine but nothing special, he's just there to be the bad guy Eve needs to kill, doesn't have the presence or menace you wouldd expect from a John Wick villain. The whole cult thing could have been explored more as we don't even fkn know why they are call a cult, the damn town just reacts to an intruder and nothing else, they're supposed to be this big threat that even the Continental Hotel respects but we never really see why they're so dangerous beyond having a lot of people but still the movie does a decent job of expanding the John Wick universe without breaking any of the established rules, rules and consequences....rules "leave your brain out of this", enjoy the action scenes.

Keanu Reeves shows up for what is basically an extended cameo, this is something that I enjoy a lot form the movie even though he is just there to try to contain Eve and while it's great to see John Wick again his presence feels a bit forced too, you could tell he didn't want to be there as a character and I also hated he had to help Eve but this also gives a bit of a through back to Chapter 4 when John was helped by Caine. The movie probably would have been fine without him but I get why they included him for marketing purposes, after you watch the movie think about all those scenes John was in and take him out, it all still work, Eve could have been told you have until mid night to kill if and if you dont we send Baba Yaga after you, it all still the damn same thing. His fight with Eve is weak AF, it's not about who wins but about the situation they are both in, because inside John he also wanted the cult to be gone for some reason that is not properly disclouse but I guess its common sense, both clans are enemies. The way he talks in this movie is even more stilted than usual like he is reading from a script in front of him and slow down 2x, which was kinda distracting. The supporting cast does their job well enough with all the extras going after Eve, though nobody really stands it was cool when everyone when after Eve just like when on Chapter 4 there was a contract on John and all assasins get the notifications. Anna de Armas carries this movie on her shoulders and does it very well imo, making Eve feel like her own character rather than just a female version of John Wick, yes I know that is what she is suppose to be but I felt it was ok just because she was not invinsible, she was aslo weak compare to some of the guys she fights, although I have to admit that there were some action scenes that were a bit over the top like when she almost get run over buy a truck at the begining of the movie but that came out of now where and that is what make this action sequences special.

Looking back, in conclusion I gotta say Ballerina exceeded my expectations in almost every way, comiing from other similar even mocking movies of John Wick and the tv series The Continental it felt way better than any of the rest, as I mention leave your brain out of this, the story is basic and some of the side plots feel unnecessary but the action is top notch and Anna de Armas proves she can handle a franchise like this, my main problem is with the many characters who basically die so fkn fast and also Norman Reedus character who I was surprise was alive at the end, I though he was waisted too for no reason, I honeslty think this movie has a lot of options from here, from prequels to sequels. I felt like the movie is not trying to replace Keanu Reeves or diminish what he has built, not like other movies who try to either immitate of becaome the new action movie standard, it's just expanding the world in a way that feels natural. The violence is brutal, the fight scenes are creative and the whole thing moves at a pace that keeps you engaged all along, the movie never felt draggy and thats super important to keep pumping dopamine, you never felt like it crash at a point and I think this is because they did all the "boring" part at first. I watch this movie at home and feel like if I had watch it at the teather its money well spend, Ballerina (2025) does have a space on my Blue Ray collection which doesn't happen often these days, I try to make it special. If you're a fan of the John Wick movies, you'll probably enjoy this one, it trigger all the right reactions without feeling like a cheap imitation. Anna de Armas has definitely earned her Assasin Licence with this movie playing Eve and I'd be totally down to see more of Eve's story in future movies. The movie sets up potential sequels because damn how many characters there are left that we dont know much about them, which I appreciate in a sense. It's not perfect but it's a solid entry in the John Wick universe that proves there's still life in this franchise beyond Keanu Reeves, something really really hard to do if not as The Matrix franchise, I would give it a solid 7.5/10.

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