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Episode 2 of Dune Prophecy is beginning to find some ground but a big event just happen to anyone that has not read the books, even if the pacing still feels a bit slow at times, there's more substance here than the first episode specially the details behind the Bene Gesserit operation and plans, as most TV series based on books or previous movies it might not be 200% accurate but at least it is expanding the world and its characters towards those who know less about the Dune Universe. The production values remain impressive with the sets and costumes selling this far future universe and the performances, especially from the actors playing Desmond and Valya with two complex and mysterious characters, I especially liked how this episode got into the politics and manipulation by religion makes it very like a chess game where some are playing checkers.

• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10466872/
• Platform: Amazon Prime Video

The episode begins with a Suk Doctor arriving at the Bene Gesserit temple to investigate Kasha's death, these doctors can be easily identify by their diamond tattoos and supposedly incapable of betraying those they serve due to their imperial conditioning, this is so contradictory to anyone who has seen the movies considering how the Atreides were betrayed by their doctor a very lol moment, then we got how the story split into at least temporary side stories like when Valya heads to Selusa Secundus, orders Tula to put Lila through a dangerous Rossak poisoning ceremony, and the politics at the imperial court get more complicated as young Constantine is manipulated while having sex with Lady Shannon who seem to be both enjoying him but at the same time working for her father trying to figure out details on her brother asssasination, its here when Constantline spill the beans and talk about a prisoner that in fact is Desmond.

The episode seem to do a great job at weaving in lots of Dune lore and mythology without making you feel like you've been dropped in the deep end of the pool, with references to events like the Battle of Corrin and figures like Rayna Butler to start pealing the surface of the Dune Universe. The visual aspect is one of the strong aspects of the series, from the design of the Heighliners that fold space to allow interstellar travel to the ceremonial chambers of the Bene Gesserit, it's clear there's been attention paid to make everything feel from a distant futuristic almost alien space, I was especially struck by how they portrayed Lila's ceremony and her encounter with the ancestral spirits, when enter into this short period of horror film like scenes but it did felt too short, I was hoping for some more terror from the spirits trying to consume Lila.

I’m starting to appreciate how the show deals with some of its pace problems, it is in fact starting to put the foot down and get conflicts to develop faster, for example we now have the dynamic between Desmond and the Emperor that is especially intriguing as we see this mysterious figure slowly amassing power and revealing the deceptions of the Bene Gesserit, it’s just like a chess game how they’re positioning him as a man of truth to power but also someone who is dangerous and unpredictable, the Keiran Atreides rebellion sub plot adds more complexity, though I wish it moved a little faster, but the scenes between him and Ynez give the impression that there are deeper conflicts to come, especially that loaded moment with the knife during their sparring session, I thought that she was going to tell him "I know what you are with the rebellion.

This episode really ends with a banger revelaing how dangerous Desmond Hart is becoming and just how he's playing both sides, the Emperor starts to see him as this powerful asset that he could use to break free from the Bene Gesserit's influence that at first thought The Emperor favor or like them as his allies but its obvious that he does not or at least goes with who favors him. There is also the fact that Valya starts to realize how much of a threat Desmond really is, especially when he shows to be immune to their voice control, which is pretty much their biggest weapon and this is what caught me off guard like ok now what?.

Desmond is positioning himself as this truth teller in a world full of lies, this is why he's always calling out the Bene Gesserit's manipulation and deception and presenting himself as totally honest, and that’s a pretty smart move when you think about it, it's basically him using honesty as a weapon in a world where everyone expects lies and schemes, but there is definitely more to his game plan than just being the emperor's new friend, he talks about wiping out the Bene Gesserit from every world, so he has a personal vendetta against them.

Lila's ceremony goes south, I expect this to happen since during the Dune movies only Paul and his mother were able to handle the worm poison, they are two big powerful figures while Lila is just a rookie on this matter, she was having this intense spiritual experience that looks straight out of a horror movie, we are getting hints about this prophecy about someone "born twice, once in blood, once in spice,” which could also apply to Desmond with his sand worm experience. Valya revelation that she’s a murderer is nothing new but the fact that Tula lies to Lila about her past and mother is what might setup a bigger conflict, imagine if "SOMEHOW" Dorotea stays in her mind latter down the line like what Mr. Smith does during the Matrix and hijacking a human mind, and the way the episode ends with Valya losing her power over Desmond and him basically telling her that her biggest fear is irrelevant shows that the ones holding the power are loosing ground, btw the Emperor never had control over anything.

#skiptvads, #inleo, #hive, #dune, #prophecy, #emperor, #valya, #desmond, #benegesserit, #lyla, #rachella, #spice, #sandworm, #ritual, #possession, #politics, #powers, #rebellion, #atreides, #corrino, #richayzee, #torteya, #temple, #vision, #ceremony, #conditioning, #assassination, #prophecies, #flixfinder

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I loved season one but this new season is far from having the same impact, how much time we are spending looking back rather than looking forward, because the episode picks up right where we left off, with Bernard rushing to the server room after witnessing Juliette’s successful escape from Silo 18, and this episode is entirely about showing us what happens inside the silo immediately after she makes it out, and while it’s important to understand the consequences of her actions, I feel we could be exploring more interesting aspects of this world, such as how these silos came to be in the first place.

In the episode "Order," Bernard played by Tim Robbins struggles to maintain order after Juliette got out and this caused chaos among the people that remain inside, and while Robbin gives a solid performance as Bernard, desperate to make sense of it all, he consults what appears to be a series of instructions in a mysterious book called "The Order" that includes advice on what to do if a cleaning fails, prepare for war, it's fascinating to see how Bernard manipulates the situation, building up a story about experimental tape in Juliette's suit allowing her to survive, but at the same time it feels more like we are trying to stay afloat than diving into the mysteries of this world, well this is probably me be too anxious and dramatic about it.

• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14688458/
• Platform: AppleTV+

Rottentomatoe Rating

We spend a lot of time with the growing tension between different factions in the Silo, especially in the down deep where Shirley, starts gathering supporters for what seems to be an unstoppable rebellion and we get more of Judge Meadows, who apparently has a shared history with Bernard and seems to have her own agenda, wanting to go outside herself, I always thought she was loosing faith in the Silo administration and their ways to manage everything within keeping the population in the shadows of what is really or what has become of the Silo, they kept hiding the truth and Medows seem to loose faith on the system, although everything that is going on on Silo 18 now feels flat because Juliette is not there to spice things up.

The production design is still impressive, the cramped corridors and factory like aesthetic of the Silo making a perfect setting for the rising tension, the kinda of steam punk style with dark and orange like scenes makes it very impressive but its hard to watch if its not on 4k due to all the very dark scenes. The way the episode is shot, particularly in the server room sequences where Bernard watches Juliette's helmet cam footage, effectively communicates the isolation and control that the system they have created has over the Silo's population, and the graffiti showing "JL" (Juliette Lives) appearing throughout the Silo is a powerful emblem of resistance, even though it feels like we've seen similar rebellion story lines before.

This episode really nails the idea of control through information, Bernard's manipulation of the truth about the tape, the mysterious book of rules he consults, and the way he plants people in the crowd to help sell his lies, all paint a picture of a very carefully constructed system of control probably develop over many many years before the Silo was even constructed; Walker and Carla's detention and later on release is also a great example of how the leadership maintains its grip by showing off their force and mercy, both sides of the coin depending on what suits them better at the moment, though I wish we were getting more answers about why this system exists, rather than just watching it in action, anxiety spikes.

Episode 2 ends with many interesting threads to develop the rest of the season, including Bernard’s control of the situation, for now, through his carefully crafted tale of experimental tape, but we have already seen the seeds of rebellion being sewn throughout the Silo, most notably by the JL graffiti, which means “Juliette Lives,” found on the walls of multiple levels.

The revelation that Judge Meadows wanted to go outside is another level of complication to the ending; here's someone who was once Bernard's shadow, who knows more of the silo's secrets than most, who has been inspired by Juliette's success and has stopped drinking after 25 years, as if seeing someone actually survive the cleaning has woken something up in her that has been asleep all these years, they don't know for sure or fact that Juliette survive but at least she was gone from where everyone was suppose to die.

The ending is so powerful too or lets say has powerful cliff hangers because it opens up the potential for history to repeat itself, Bernard mentions a rebellion 140 years ago that leadership was able to squelch, but with Juliette’s successful escape and survival, the stakes are different, the people have witnessed the outside world not necessarily be what they’ve been led to believe, and perhaps more importantly, they’ve seen that survival is possible. Will Silo 18 go the way of Silo 17? Will Bernard be able to keep a handle on things by manipulation and judiciously planted supporters or will the truth about the tape and the outside world spread too fast? Will Judge Meadows be leading the fight, and if so whose side will she be on? Most importantly, how will Juliette's continued absence affect those who believe in her?

#skiptvads, #inleo, #hive, #silo, #rebellion, #bernard, #juliette, #survival, #tape, #cleaning, #resistance, #control, #meadows, #oxygen, #walker, #shirley, #graffiti, #order, #vault, #silos, #apocalypse, #leadership, #freedom, #manipulation, #survival, #authority, #underground, #dystopia, #flixfinder

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Hola, querido hiver.

El final se acerca y empiezo a sentir un desasosiego conocido. Por una parte deseo avanzar para saber qué pasa a continuación. Por otro lado me gustaría ir más despacio para prolongar el tiempo de disfrute.

Además esta es la última temporada con 10 capítulos. Las dos restantes son más cortas en episodios pero respetaré la frecuencia de una temporada a la semana para no mezclar las tramas. Si me adelanto y termino antes de tiempo la temporada 7 tengo pensado ocupar ese rato con películas.

Bueno, que me explayo demasiado y tú has entrado para otra cosa, así que comienzo después de hacer el...

Aviso de spoiler

Sigo desvelando lo que pasa en la serie. Si continúas leyendo es bajo tu responsabilidad.

La temporada anterior terminó con el asesinato a traición de Jon Nieve por el grupo de Guardianes de la Noche que no le respalda encabezados por Thorne. Sus fieles quedan desolados y Davos le pide a Melissandre que haga lo posible por resucitarle utilizando su magia.

Funciona y Jon decide abandonar la Guardia de la Noche, pero antes de marcharse del Castillo Negro se presentan allí Sansa Stark junto a Brienne de Tarth y Podrick Payne. Tras recordar su infancia los hermanos deciden recuperar Invernalia de manos de los Bolton.

Buscan aliados entre las demás casas del Norte y apenas logran reunir la mitad de fuerzas respecto a su enemigo. Aún así se presentan a la batalla, en la que Ramsay Bolton utiliza estrategias muy crueles causando innumerables bajas, pero finalmente cae derrotado gracias a la ayuda de los caballeros del Valle en el último momento.

Después de esta victoria Jon Nieve es proclamado nuevo Rey en el Norte, pero Meñique, que está presente en ese momento, no está de acuerdo y nos deja con la intriga de lo que hará a continuación.

Por otro lado, su amigo Samwell Tarly marcha con Elí y el bebé con la intención de regresar convertido en maestre. La idea de Sam era dejar a Elí y el pequeño con su familia pero el padre les trata muy mal y se van los tres juntos a la Ciudadela.

Daenerys es capturada por los dothraki y la pretenden encerrar en una especie de santuario para las viudas de los anteriores khal. Ella provoca el incendio del lugar donde los jefes khalasar están tomando la decisión y sale ilesa de entre las llamas como ya hizo una vez.

Regresa a Meereen a tiempo para derrotar de nuevo a los esclavistas y recibe a Theon y Yara Greyjoy, que se unen a ella ofreciéndole sus barcos. También se suman las Casas Martell y Tyrell, que desean vengarse de los Lannister.

El menor de ellos, Tyrion Lannister, se encarga de la ciudad de Meereen en ausencia de la reina y hace un buen papel, por lo que se gana la confianza de Daenerys y le nombra su Mano.

En Desembarco del Rey los fanáticos de la Fe de los Siete siguen aplicando su régimen. Consiguen que los reyes se unan a su causa a cambio de que la reina Margaery no tenga que realizar el paseo de la vergüenza como hizo Cersei Lannister, madre del rey.

Queda pendiente el juicio a Cersei y a Loras Tyrell, hermano de la reina. Primero comparece Loras, que se arrepiente y se une a la Fe. Cuando llega la hora de enjuiciar a Cersei, esta no se presenta y hace desaparecer a todos los que estaban en el Septo provocando una explosión de fuego valyrio bajo el mismo. Como consecuencia, su hijo Tommen, el actual rey, se suicida.

Arya Stark queda ciega y mendiga por las calles como castigo por no asesinar a quien le encargaron. Le hacen un nuevo encargo y de nuevo falla en su propósito. Pero le sirve para decidir regresar a Poniente en busca de su familia.

Lo primero que hace es presentarse en Los Gemelos para vengar la muerte de su hermano Robb y a su madre, utilizando los cambios de identidad que ha aprendido.

Nos queda por último Brandon Stark, que en la temporada 5 no aparece. Sigue al otro lado del Muro, protegido dentro de una cueva y entrenándose con el Cuervo de tres ojos para controlar sus visiones.

En estos entrenamientos Brandon es testigo de escenas del pasado. Pero comete un error y los Caminantes Blancos descubren su escondite de la cueva. La atacan y caen todos menos Brandon y Meera Reed, que huyen hacia el Muro. Él es ahora el Cuervo de tres ojos.

Se nota que la serie a estas alturas había alcanzado una gran popularidad y gozaba de amplio presupuesto. Los rodajes en exteriores aumentan y se aprecian efectos especiales que la dotan de un gran realismo.

Atendiéndome a las tramas, en esta temporada me han gustado mucho las visiones del pasado de Brandon. Nos permiten conocer detalles que nos acercan a las motivaciones de los personajes para actuar como lo han hecho o siguen haciendo.

Para mí el momento álgido es cuando se desvela el verdadero origen de Jon Nieve. ¡Brutal! No se me pasaba por la cabeza y, sin embargo, ahora encajan unas cuantas piezas que tenía sueltas, jeje. Me encanta que me sigan sorprendiendo al tiempo que mantienen la intriga, pues queda mucho por resolver todavía. Y el invierno ya está aquí.

Créditos: Diseño de la portada en Canva. Todas las imágenes de la película obtenidas de IMDb. Trailer oficial obtenido de YouTube

Hasta la próxima publicación. Mientras tanto, ¡cuídate!

Reseñas de las temporadas anteriores Temporada 1: Ganas o mueres Temporada 2: Cinco reyes. Un trono. Temporada 3: Todos los hombres deben servir Temporada 4: Todos los hombres deben morir Temporada 5: Las guerras venideras

Herramientas: Cámara iPhone 13 Pro, editor de fotos Mac. Mis publicaciones en Worldmappin pinchando aquí Si te gusta lo que publico, únete a mi Fanbase pinchando aquí

©️Copyright 2024 Paloma Peña Pérez. Todos los derechos reservados.

Hi, dear hiver.

The end is near and I begin to feel a familiar uneasiness. On the one hand I want to move forward to find out what happens next. On the other hand I would like to slow down to prolong the time of enjoyment.

Besides, this is the last season with 10 episodes. The remaining two are shorter in episodes but I will respect the frequency of one season a week so as not to mix up the plots. If I get ahead of myself and finish season 7 early, I plan to spend that time with films.

Well, I'm going too long and you've come in for something else, so I'll start after I've done the...

Spoiler warning

I keep revealing what happens in the series. If you continue reading it's at your own risk.

The previous season ended with the treacherous murder of Jon Snow by the group of unsupportive Night's Watch led by Thorne. His faithful are devastated and Davos asks Melissandre to do what she can to resurrect him using her magic.

It works and Jon decides to leave the Night's Watch, but before leaving Castle Black, Sansa Stark shows up with Brienne of Tarth and Podrick Payne. After reminiscing about their childhood, the siblings decide to reclaim Winterfell from the Boltons.

They seek allies among the other houses of the North and barely manage to muster half the strength of their enemy. Even so, they go into battle, where Ramsay Bolton employs cruel strategies causing countless casualties, but is finally defeated thanks to the help of the knights of the Vale at the last moment.

After this victory Jon Snow is proclaimed the new King of the North, but Littlefinger, who is present at the time, disagrees and leaves us to wonder what he will do next.

Meanwhile, his friend Samwell Tarly leaves with Eli and the baby with the intention of returning as a Maester. Sam's idea was to leave Eli and the baby with his family, but the father treats them badly and the three of them go to the Citadel together.

Daenerys is captured by the Dothraki and they try to lock her up in a kind of sanctuary for the widows of the previous khals. She sets fire to the place where the khalasar chieftains are making their decision and emerges unharmed from the flames as she did once before.

She returns to Meereen in time to defeat the slavers again and receives Theon and Yara Greyjoy, who join her in offering her their ships. They are also joined by Houses Martell and Tyrell, who wish to take revenge on the Lannisters.

The youngest of them, Tyrion Lannister, takes charge of the city of Meereen in the queen's absence and does well, gaining Daenerys' trust and naming him her Hand.

In King's Landing the zealots of the Faith of the Seven continue to enforce their regime. They get the kings to join their cause in exchange for Queen Margaery not having to do the walk of shame as Cersei Lannister, mother of the king, did.

The trial of Cersei and Loras Tyrell, the queen's brother, remains to be heard. First Loras appears, who repents and joins the Faith. When it comes time for Cersei's trial, she fails to appear and makes everyone in the Sept disappear by causing an explosion of Valyrian fire beneath it. As a result, her son Tommen, the current king, commits suicide.

Arya Stark is left blind and begging in the streets as punishment for not killing the one she was commissioned to kill. She is given a new task and again fails in her purpose. But it helps her decide to return to Westeros in search of her family.

The first thing she does is to show up at The Twins to avenge the death of her brother Robb and her mother, using the identity changes she has learned.

Lastly, there is Brandon Stark, who did not appear in season 5. He is still on the other side of the Wall, protected inside a cave and training with the Three-Eyed Raven to control his visions.

In this training Brandon witnesses scenes from the past. But he makes a mistake and the White Walkers discover his cave hideout. They attack it and all fall except Brandon and Meera Reed, who flee to the Wall. He is now the Three-Eyed Raven.

It is noticeable that the series by this point had achieved great popularity and enjoyed a large budget. The outdoor filming is increasing and the special effects give the series a realism that makes it more realistic.

Looking at the plots, this season I really liked the glimpses into Brandon's past. They allow us to know details that bring us closer to the characters' motivations for acting as they have done or continue to do.

For me, the highlight is when Jon Snow's true origin is revealed. Brutal! It didn't cross my mind, and yet now a few pieces I had loose fit together, hehe. I love that they keep surprising me while keeping the intrigue going, because there's still a lot to be solved. And winter is already here.

Credits: Cover design in Canva. All images from the film obtained from IMDb. Official trailer obtained from YouTube

See you next time. In the meantime, take care!

Reviews of previous seasons Season 1: You win or you die Season 2: Five kings. One throne. Season 3: All men must serve Season 4: All men must die Season 5: The wars to come

Tools: iPhone 13 Pro camera, Mac photo editor. Translated with DeepL My publications in Worldmappin by clicking here If you like my content, join my Fanbase clicking here

©️Copyright 2024 Paloma Peña Pérez. All rights reserved.

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My weekend went according to play so I had time to watch Train to Busan, I was going in with the impression that this movie is a Zombie Gem and it didn't disappoint me, it’s one of those rare gems that comes from South Korea and demonstrates how a zombie movie should be made, the interesting part is that it takes most of the common elements we see in zombie movies and somehow makes them fit together to make something unique that keeps you interested throughout the entire time, and I could even go as far to say that this is probably the best zombie movie ever made beating out big names like World War Z but I don't want to go that far, this movie proves that you don’t need a big Hollywood production or a big name actor to make something great.

This film is set in South Korea, the story develops around a fund manager named Seok Woo to whom his daughter Soo An never gets to spend much of her time as he always has tons of work to keep himself busy, classic movie that amps up characters regrets before the bad events happen, when she asks if he could take her to her mother for her birthday in Busan, he had to relent doing that by taking her on a train ride, which turns out to be a hellish train ride when a biological outbreak starts turning people into zombies, not zombies as we see it in The Walking Dead, these are non stop full speed and in the matter of seconds make people into zombies which makes them even more horrifying and what’s interesting is that mostly this film is set inside of the train with the whole claustrophobic sensation given the space and making the tension become more wholesome, first time I saw this type of 0 to 100 real quick zombies was on World War Z.

• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5700672/
• Platform: Amazon Prime Video

Rottentomatoes Rating

Train to Busan starts by showing us a biological leak at a factory in the South Korean countryside and we see roads being blocked off and a weird incident with a deer getting hit by a truck and coming back to life as a zombie which sets up what’s to come but doesn’t really give us any information on how this virus spreads or works, we never really know if it travels through the air, water or what happened at the factory that caused all of this chaos, all we know is that this biological waste is responsible for turning people into these fast, aggressive zombies that we see throughout the movie.

There is another breaking out in Seoul when the train is getting ready to leave the station but we never do find out if it's connected to the factory incident or if it's something completely different, what makes this virus so terrifying is the speed at which it works, unlike other zombie movies where people get infected and then die and come back as zombies after some time, in Train to Busan the transformation happens almost instantly, you get bit and in seconds to minutes you’re one of the pack, you can't say goodbye or have any meaningful last words before you’re a mindless creature that just wants to attack and infect others, this adds a ton of tension to the movie because you know that just one bite is all it takes and there is no coming back from it, no cure to find, no hope of survival once you’re infected, game over.

The plot is not that complicated and I like that because it make it simple for an action movie and what makes it work is the fact that everything around it worked so well, from the moment the outbreak starts the movie doesn't let go and every time you think that the characters are safe something happens to ensure that they're not, its just one event after another similar to an action pack sequence, but it never feels forced and it was the right balance when it came to the pacing and how every scene served a purpose; what I liked most though was the way in which the film actually took time to build up the relationships between each of the characters and their interactions, but didn't compromise the horror or the tension elements making it into a action over drama movie.

Train to Busan has a great cast with some fabulous performances from Gong Yoo who goes through the transformation of his character from a detached workaholic dad to a man who will do anything to protect his child played by Kim Su An who does a phenomenal job as well considering her age she manages to make her character feel real in a completely relatable way, without falling into the unpleasant child stereotype that films like this tend to fall for, Ma Dong Seok who plays Sang Hwa steals every scene he is in with his charming nature and the most heroic actions, he starts off as opposed to Seok Woo only to become one of the most likable characters in the movie while his relationship with his pregnant wife adds another level of emotion to the story. To be honest its the first time that I heard or saw many of this actors but its almost the same on this side of the world when watching movies from the other side of the world.

What sets the movie apart from the others is that it really does have a fresh feeling despite many of the familiar elements we can find in the genre such as a confined space which the train provides, fast moving zombies, still predictable story, these three along with many other elements work together to create something unique, not global award for unique ideas for a movie but you get my point. The movie works on multiple levels as yes its a zombie movie with fantastic action sequences and scare moments but the points it makes about social issues such as class division and selfishness in society are also key, we see this with characters like Yon Suk whom embody the wealthy elite that would do anything to survive, even sacrificing others if they had to, another character who brings a contrast to this is Sang Hw, a working class character that plays by his heart and has more humanity and compassion, it would be very easy for the movie to come off as preachy regarding these themes but instead it allowed them to naturally develop through the actions of the characters, the visual effects and makeup of the zombies are worth mentioning to as they look terrifying in character and feel as realistic as possible without too much use of CGI.

After everything they’ve been through, Seok Woo gets bitten while protecting his daughter, in his final moments he thinks of every time he didn’t have her back and throws himself from the train before turning into a zombie, a sad but fitting ending for his character as he finally places someone else’s needs above his own, Soo An and the pregnant woman Sung Gyeong are the only ones to make it to Busan, when they finally reach safety we see Soo An singing the song she wanted to perform for her father at the beginning of the movie, it’s a moment that rounds everything out and shows how much has been lost, but also how humanity can persevere in the worst of times.

#skiptvads, #inleo, #hive, #zombies, #train, #virus, #outbreak, #infection, #apocalypse, #southkorea, #subway, #virusspread, #trainjourney, #passengers, #infected, #undead, #flesh, #rabid, #speed, #speedofinfection, #chaos, #survival, #confinedspace, #deadlyadversaries, #militareresponse, #policepresence, #societald Decay, #desperation, #humanizing, #emotionalddepth, #flixfinder

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Smile was released two years ago and gave us a reason to be suspicious of anyone who showed their teeth, what a weird new thing to make a horror movie based from smiling, yes it can be creepy with the right facial expression but not something common to think about. Parker Finn is back and this time he is basically trying to power up on everything we loved about the first movie, almost saying "This is not over!. There was always a supernatural curse in the first movie, this time around we are checking out the ostentatiously attractive world of pop stardom, which is surprisingly effective. They take the creepy smile concept and just put it out there and it is scarier, more disturbing than it was before. Fame being such an isolating and scary thing makes the whole idea of a famous person going through this nightmare all the more interesting.

I don't necessarily consider it better than the first movie so I give it a solid 7.5 out of 10, it's not going to win any awards for originality, but it certainly knows how to keep you uncomfortable and scared. Most of that time is spent building up the tension and creating some really memorable scary moments, and while the movie runs a bit long at over two hours, they’re worth it. The best thing is how it can make something as simple as a smile seem threatening all over again, when we’ve already seen it done before.

• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt29268110/
• Platform: AppleTV+

Rottentomatoes Rating

Its story line develops around Skye Riley, a pop icon who is making a comeback after a terrible car accident that killed her boyfriend and left her both physically and emotionally scarred, I guess is that moment you get so close to death that works like a portal to bring bad things with you?, horror movies stuff. She's been clean for a year dealing with substance abuse issues and is getting ready for a huge comeback tour, she tries to score some pain killers off of her old dealer Lewis, but when she goes to pick up, Lewis kills himself right in front of her with a twisted smile on his face. From there life is a nightmare for Skye as she begins to see people with creepy smiles everywhere she goes and her mind goes to Hell fast, until this point we are clear on the originality I mention above. It's even more complicated than that, she's trying to keep her career going forward, while literally fighting for her life against this supernatural entity that's haunting her.

This setup is interesting for the way it twists celebrity and mental health, kind of Final Destination type where its the same topic but different person. She can’t just drop everything and run away, she has shows to perform and an entire team of people she needs to be there for, to mention her mother and her assistant treat her worse than product than an actual person, this makes her situation more isolating. I think the movie does a pretty good job of showing how the pressures of fame can make it hard to tell what's real and what isn't, and when you're being haunted by a demon who is very good at making you doubt your own sanity.

Naomi Scott absolutely kills it as Skye Riley and I mean that in the best way possible, she gets you to believe she is this huge pop star and still manages to show the vulnerability and terror of someone whose life is going to pieces. It’s probably going to be the one scene where a group of dancers are talked about for a while, and Scott’s performance is absolutely terrifying. Kyle Gallner as Joel comes back from the first movie but its weird how his part is brief but essential to connect the two movies, they probably should have given him a bigger role to really keep both movies tight. Rosemarie DeWitt is a wonderful Skye's mother and does a great job of playing how someone can be caring and yet completely oblivious to their loved ones suffering. It's all the way down to the creepy smiles, which are simple in theory, but actually takes some serious skill to pull off without looking ridiculous, or probably start laughing on set because you are been ridiculous jajaja.

Makes sense that the online rating for this movie is pretty split on this one, been that some people like how it extends the original's ideas, but its true that you could find it more of the same. Jump scares are more frequent this time around, which may annoy some viewers, but they’re done well and actually help tell the story rather than being cheap shot are your fear of dark place and someone who pops up with a creepy smile. The visual effects and gore are also cranked up from the first movie, courtesy of a higher budget and most people seem to like how the film isn't afraid to get really dark and disturbing when it has to, after it is it's main attractive.

I really liked how the movie been a sequel surpass expectations, most people online thought it was going to flop, at least the sites and feeds I follow. It’s surprisingly light on jump scares until around the first 40 minutes or so when you start to relax and then things really start getting crazy, they probably time it well. Psychological horror is treated well and while there’s always this feeling of unease, the movie just keeps building on it, the best horror made me feel physically uncomfortable, and some of the scenes were actually just that.

It’s in the ending where things get really interesting and honestly pretty bold, even similar on this aspect to the first movie at the end is when finally succumbing to the entity while on stage at a massive concert performance, Skye's entire audience is cursed all at once. It's a huge change from how the curse worked in the first movie, where it passed from one to another old school like Final Destination or The Ring, and that opens up some interesting possibilities for a third movie turning this into a trilogy or who knows how many more they will try to milk out. What do you do when hundreds or thousands of people are cursing at you at the same time? I’m always curious to see where they take the story next and it’s a question.

#skiptvads, #inleo, #hive, #smile, #sequel, #horror, #thriller, #tension, #scares, #anxiety, #mental, #health, #pressure, #fame, #capitalism, #exploitation, #mythology, #legend, #creature, #monster, #curse, #film, #franchise, #performance, #review, #critique, #analysis, #suspense, #suspenseful, #entertainment, #flixfinder

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Caddo Lake is one of those movies that grab you with the mysterious, suspenseful plot, but not one you’ll binge watch every other weekend, the classic cable movie. This movie has everything you would expect from a good thriller, directed by Celine Held and Logan George and produced by notorious M. Night Shyamalan. The movie set in the strange and confusing Caddo Lake, which spread out the border of Texas and Louisiana, explores broken families, time travel and some supernatural mysteries are the main attractive of this movie. I gave "Caddo Lake (2024)" a 7 out of 10, it is another of those movie I consider a good one time thing to watch, turns and twists keep it interesting, but it lacks in a few things that keep it from being a repeat favorite. But the film's small scale and straight to streamer release strategy might have something to do with why it didn't get a wider theatrical release, but that doesn't minimize its impact.

• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15552142/
• Platform: MAX

Rottentomatoes Rating

The story develops around two main characters, Dylan O'Brien as Paris, Eliza Scanlen as Ellie. Paris is a average worker living near the lake, still in mourning of his mother's early death, he has a girlfriend, Cee played Diana Hopper, apart from that he has hand tremors and hesitates when he speaks, which show Paris's past traumas. But Ellie is a college hopeful living with her erratic, possibly abusive mother, Celeste played by Lauren Ambrose and her step sister Anna played by Caroline Falk. There's tension between Ellie and her mom and when Anna goes missing, during said family argument, at least initially there is nothing, but this disappearance sparks a community wide search.

Paris finds himself entangled in his own mystery as the search for Anna continues, some other sinister secrets are uncovered through strange noises he begins researching in the lake and neighboring forest. The film is very smart about cutting between Ellie and Paris in the storylines, keeping the momentum high and the suspense thick, one of the great features of Caddo Lake is the use of wolves as main plot device. These wolves show up in various places at various times and although they shouldn’t be there, they’re suggesting that something supernatural is going on.

Dylan OBrien on this movie does have certain dramatic talents were evident in films like "Deepwater Horizon" when he transitioned his character's past and present, and he does that here too, then there is Eliza Scanlen who is just as impressive as Ellie. This shows her as a young woman torn by her desire to get away from her difficult family life, she feels kinda trap between this love and not hate but still akward situation. What's so fascinating about Celeste and the chemistry with Lauren Ambrose is that the mother and daughter have a certain level of tension, between them almost feels physical, their arguments are intense and believable, acting skills in my opinion was not a problem on this movie. Celeste is a standout with Lauren Ambrose, her character is complex enough to make you feel she is relevant to the story, her interactions with Ellie, and the rest of the family are so nuanced. Eric Lange's Daniel, the new step dad, with his determination to be civil is admirable, even during the multiple fight scenes or arguments, as Anna’s status as missing circulates, the actors give us some authentic performances. Only problem I find about all this is how you can focus 100% with so many characters been involve, it might be just me but I rather like when the story is simple, straight forward one on one between characters and not all at once.

The movie has received a 80% on Rotten Tomatoes and an 81% audience percentage, its a great score although I'm sure not many would agree considering there is time travel involve on the plot, but the film's suspenseful nature and performances of the cast have been praised by the viewers. We have the mysterious elements, the time traveling plot and the wolves to keep you interested trying to understand the relationship between each other so if you are not into cracking the code during a movie then this might not be for you. Since you have to give it a good though there are times where the story becomes unclear and the stakes become sloppy. I was really drawn to this movie by its setting, the moment I saw the cover I knew there was going to be trouble, desperation and sadness everyone as it usual for movies that develop close to rivers or swamps. The kind of isolation that runs through everything is the feeling of being almost alone on the lake, which is almost a character itself and has almost a spooky silent quality, that plus stunning cinematography tells the vast mystery of the lake in a way that makes you feel like you’re sitting right next to the characters and the scenery is without a doubt one that shouldn’t be missed.

For the most part the most interesting aspect was the reveal of the time traveling portals that at first were probably not intended to be understand or describe this way, but the fact that these are different timelines and yet these characters are connected adds a little bit of complexity to the story, so that you're engaged. The execution of these twists is sometimes a little rushed and confusing, which can be frustrating, also trying to implement the time travel and explain it on a different way makes it confusing.

Things get really complicated in the ending were we find out that Anna's disappearance is just child for child, and it's part of a larger time traveling narrative. Anna goes back in time to 1952, and lives out her life becoming the mother of Paris, Ellie’s father, big spoiler sorry but had to say it, its a mind blowing event during the movie, it makes sense of the characters in a way that’s both shocking and inevitable. Though the film finishes out a bit rushed, leaving a certain uncertainty about the story, a lack of conclusion fact that Celeste and Cee are one and the same person at different ages complicates an already complex story a bit more, over complicating things, just to give another example of this kind of situations is when Ellie discover that her mother is also her father's partner in a different timeline.

#skiptvads, #inleo, #hive, #mystery, #suspense, #caddolake, #family, #timetravel, #wolves, #isolation, #lake, #texas, #louisiana, #dylanobrien, #elizascanlen, #laurenambrose, #ericlange, #cinematography, #plottwists, #shyamalan, #streamer, #thriller, #disappearance, #child, #past, #trauma, #relationships, #complexity, #twist, #flixfinder

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Blumhouse is a house name when it comes to horror movies and Speak No Evil is a remake that I'm still processing what I've just seen. It’s not perfect, but it’s a remake of a Danish film from 2022 and kept me interested the entire almost two hours, sometimes the movie does a good job being a psychological thriller but other times it misses the mark and attempts to be a horror film, so I’d give it a solid 7.5/10.

The story centers around American couple Ben and Louise, living in London with their daughter Agnes, and the vacation come together with this super intense British couple, Paddy and Ciara, in an Italian town. Everything starts normally enough, they spend time together, their kids get along, and they seem to get on well despite Paddy being a little over the top. Then a few weeks later they get invited to go and stay for a weekend at Paddy and Ciara's farmhouse in Devon, and it's when things get weird. Ben is attracted to Paddy's assured outlook on life, which may be a result of not having a job and feeling a bit low on himself, and Louise is properly wary.

• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt27534307/
• Platform: AppleTV+

Rottentomatoes Rating

The movie starts showing its true colors once they get to the farmhouse. James McAvoy playing Paddy goes from being just intense to straight up uncomfortable, forcing Louise to eat meat even though she's vegetarian and having some really concerning behavior towards his son Ant who supposedly has this condition that affects his tongue and means he can't speak. Then the whole thing gets more twisted when Agnes finds out some pretty disturbing things about our hosts they have an array of watches that look like they belong to other men and a photo album that shows that they have a history of families checking in before them.

Sometimes it feels like he’s channeling his character from Split a bit too much, but James McAvoy absolutely owns this movie, he has develop this charisma or say internal conflict that suits perfectly this type of twisted minds characters, its like the guy saying "IM CRAZY" in a very over the top way and still make it believable. This mix of charm and complete psycho that he is, somehow again works, this time to play Paddy, even when it probably shouldn't. He goes from being this friendly host to showing us little peak of something much darker underneath it, while it's pretty over the top sometimes, it's still really interesting to watch. Mackenzie Davis has also got a really strong performance as Louise, she makes the character’s growing unease feel real and justified, with perfect weakness and denial, Scoot McNairy plays Ben who you will understand why he keeps ignoring the red flags, even when everything is screaming at them to get the fuck out.

I can see why the movie is getting mixed reactions, been a remake of the original Danish version isn't being met with a lot of happy people who saw the original, as they say it loses a lot of the tension and social commentary that made the first one so effective, but if you haven't seen the original this version still succeeds in generating some truly creepy moments, although it does get bogged down by some typical Hollywood cliches in the end, been a remake is the only true flaw and only for those who are fan of the original movie.

There are some scenes that really work for the movie and will stay inside your head, like when Paddy begins to show his true colors during dinner or when Agnes finds out the truth about their hosts, the movie does have an interesting way of building tension, sometimes a little too hard to be clever. Their cinematography is a little dramatic with these really intense close ups of McAvoy's face that sometimes pull me out of the moment instead of pulling me deeper into it. It's not hard to see why there is something compelling about watching this family dig themselves deeper into this nightmare situation because they are just too polite to speak up.

Many might look at Speak No Evil as just another Hollywood remake, but the movie does its own thing with some creative twist to the story, not everything will be exact as the original one since there has to be some new sauce into it. In essence the film is the Danish original with added layers of issues that had not been in the original, whether marital problems with Ben and Louise or them having struggled to adjust to life in London.

McAvoy’s take on Paddy is a different kind of menace, one that mixes charm with a spike of threat that feels more a critique of toxic behavior. One of the key aspects of this remake is how Ant character is given more importance to the plot, making him an active role in revealing the truth of whats going on instead of just been another victim. This entire aspect gives the story a more emotional turn that it didn't have before, to compare it to the original movie I had to watch it and now I understand why a remake was necessary, not only because its a Hollywood remake but it tries to lift up the story making it more commercial and appealing to the western audience.

While fans of the original were understandably controversial to change the ending, the desire to look at different themes that included family bonds and survival rather just than mimic the Danish version, the remake also has a bit of fun with viewers expectations in the way that events of the original are already known and so this something that the remake can play with through what could be changed, what might have been changed and what could have been tweaked.

Comparing both as to what it was and now what it is, now that I think about it, Speak No Evil (2024) is one of those movies that you can still watch even when it isn’t that great. It’s like watching those nasty videos of people cleaning that you still find satisfying, you kept asking yourself whats wrong with this people that let it get that dirty, but you can’t look away. It's a movie that attempts to say something about politeness and social dynamics but tries to hard to give those typical horror movie thrills. McAvoy’s performance and a number of genuinely tense scenes make it worth watching, even if you’re not sure if you actually enjoyed it or not.

#skiptvads, #inleo, #hive, #horror, #mcavoy, #blumhouse, #remake, #psychological, #tension, #denmark, #thriller, #farmhouse, #manipulation, #vacation, #survival, #politeness, #family, #violence, #trauma, #countryside, #performance, #childhood, #paranoia, #marriage, #trust, #isolation, #secrets, #evil, #flixfinder

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I'm looking forward to seeing the movie Emilia perez soon, so I felt compelled to look for the movie Les olympiades, which was the one I had yet to see by Jacques Audiard.

Tengo ganas de ver pronto la película Emilia Pérez, así que me sentí obligado a buscar la película Les Olympiades, que era la que me faltaba por ver de Jacques Audiard.

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In the most complex way actually just over complex Francis Ford Coppola's latest movie Megalopolis is quite something different but weird?, is not a movie for everyone and for the most part the movie is all over the place with some cool moments that are a big let down, kinda 0 to 100 real quick in the bad way. At 85, Coppola decided to put his money where his mouth is, literally merged his Francis Ford Coppola Winery with Delicato Family Wines in 2021 in a deal worth about $650 million, to finance this $120 million ambition that has been in his head since the '80s. After watching this movie I can say it’s a messy but strangely captivating one that let me with mixed feelings, but I was more entertained than I thought, even if not always for the right reasons, this movie can make you mad, when writing this post I got to that place but not as negative as most people online.

• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10128846/
• Platform: AppleTV+

Rottentomatoes Rating

It’s set in New Rome City, which is basically New York with a golden filter, the filter not my favorite aspect of the movie, and some Roman Empire aesthetics thrown in. Adam Driver plays Caesar Catilina who is this genius architect who invented some miracle material called Megalon, but he is having a long term argument with Mayor Cicero played by Giancarlo Esposito, who wants to leave things as they are. It’s all just one big spin of family drama, political commentary and philosophical smoke that sometimes makes sense and sometimes doesn’t. One thing Caesar can do is stop time when he feels like it, which doesn’t make much sense as to why this is and doesn’t really add much to the story other than some cool visuals. All sorts of subplots pop up and disappear faster than you can remember them and this weird moment where Caesar gets accused of something terrible, only to be ignored in the next scene as fake news.

All of the performances in this movie are all over the place, everything is very average in the verge of been a bad movie, probably why I gave it no more than a 6.5/10. Adam Driver goes all in with his intensity and switches between these Shakespeare quoting moments, he literally busts out "To be or not to be" in the middle of a scene about building a casino, so cliche made me fell like "is this guy for real?" but on other more grounded scenes where he's trying to sell his vision of a perfect city felt very passionate. As Mayor Cicero, Giancarlo Esposito delivers exactly what you’d expect from him, that controlled authority we’ve seen him perfect in other roles. Aubrey Plaza plays Wow Platinum; this name really throw me off like someone ran out of ideas, and "Wow" intentionally mispronounces words throughout the film, just one of those weird creative choices that makes you wonder what was going on during filming. Then we got Shia LaBeouf, he shows up as this Trump like character named Clodio, and it feels like it’s from a completely different movie but it somehow fits in this strange world Coppola has created, see how this movie is all over the place, love and hate relationship.

Megalopolis has probably divided opinion more than most films, which isn't surprising for a film that's so unconventional in every possible way you could think about, I could literally see people walking out of theaters, while others attracted to the weirdness of the film are more attracted to its ambition, and its unique vision. A major point of controversy has been the visual effects, which are stunning in the way that the city is golden and futuristic in some moments before falling into the 2000s video game aesthetic in others. It’s jarring that the quality is so inconsistent, but it makes the film feel so strange.

This mess of a movie drew me weirdly in, for multiple purpose since I'm the type of guy that has to watch a movie specially when people are saying is that bad, I saw Madam Web despite, what can I saw I'm attract to weird movies too. Megalopolis rarely makes sense but there’s something wonderful about watching a great director take a chance and just do it, you got to respect that at least, even when Shia LaBeouf’s character starts leading MAGA style rallies in the film, the film’s attempts at political commentary are so heavy handed that they are cringe worthy, a movie full of optimism about the possibility of building a better world to a point that you might believe it is.

The biggest problem with Megalopolis seems to be that it has no clear story or structure at all, it gets thrown around plot threads which are never resolved or explained. For instance, Caesar's ability to stop time is never portrayed and not used in the story for meaning, along with other random elements in the film, it's just there for unknown reason. Moving through timeline jumping back and forth between serious philosophical discussions and absurdly out of place moments, you then have scenes with characters quoting Shakespeare at random, followed by a montage of Elvis impersonators singing the national anthem amid the chaos and even a parade of clowns dancing to the main character while he’s on drugs, such an abrupt shifts make it difficult for viewers to feel for the story, figure out what type of movie it is, sci fi? drama? fantasy?.

The fact that it’s called New Rome City but is very obvious is New York makes it confusing to be hones, with modern elements like QR codes but the film never settles or explains its world. There’s also a main plot about building a utopian city out of a magical material, which is also poorly explained same as stopping time, and doesn’t even explain how it would work or solve real world problems. There is also the problem with a great set of actors when each actor in a different movie, or are they competing to be the main attraction the hole movie? This only further complicates the matter by adding that inconsistency in acting styles.

Coppola has put countless years into this project, so it’s disappointing when the final product feels like a messy compilation of concepts without a clear vision or true intention for why it was being made in the first place, one that makes audiences feel dumb and bored instead of entertained or otherwise educated, Shakespeare? really?.

The rest of Megalopolis is just as wild as the ending, even after the political drama, the philosophical debates, the random time stopping moments, we finally get this surreal sequence where Adam Driver's character is on drugs and clowns dance through Madison Square Garden. The film fails to stitch up its themes of the fall of empires and the possibility of building a better society, in such a roundabout way At the end, we focus on a child, which gives us some hope for the future but the way this movie works, it’s more the feeling than anything else and even that doesn’t make sense in the logical sense, its like those kind of weird but good videos that make no sense but its multiple scenes with the same effect one after another, like watching clips of you favorite movie moments, except on Megalopolis they are mostly bad. That is how it feels Copola wanted the movie to talk to the audience but to be honest it failed.

#skiptvads, #inleo, #hive, #megalopolis, #coppola, #driver, #utopia, #rome, #shakespeare, #empire, #chaos, #visionary, #esposito, #plaza, #lebouf, #fishburne, #voight, #architecture, #politics, #pretentious, #ambition, #messy, #confusing, #optimism, #futuristic, #bizarre, #experimental, #incoherent, #flixfinder

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