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Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)
A boring disappointment
After having eagerly awaited Scorsese's follow up to The Irishman for so long, I was so excited to see this film as his newest work.
I was very bitterly disappointed to find a dull, repetitive, shallow and just plain boring movie with nothing of substance to offer.
The first 2 and a half hours of this film is a collection of scenes that follow the exact same formula of whites acting greedy and despicable, committing atrocities and then the Native Americans lamenting their situation, rinse and repeat about a dozen times and you have the first 2.5 hours of this movie.
The plot doesn't move forward until much later when Jesse Plemons shows up and I was waiting the whole time for him to show up because I knew the plot wouldn't start moving until he did. The investigation by Plemons was quite engaging to watch and the most enjoyable part of the film.
There is little to no depth to be found in any of the characters, white or Native. Each character is defined by a single shallow trait such as greed, stupidity, suffering or sociopathy and there are little to no opportunities for the audience to get a glimpse of their souls or inner workings of their minds to understand their complex motivations. The Native American characters in particular are not given much personality and mostly exist as stand ins for slasher movie victims for the white villains to slaughter.
The acting and performances are competently done as expected of the cast and there are some very beautiful shots in this film but the story or perhaps the lack of it, makes it a very painful and laborious watch and just a chore to sit through in the theater.
Jing yi wui long (2022)
Engaging and thought provoking courtroom thriller that nevertheless leaves room for improvement
The film examines in great detail not only the gruesome double murder but also the trial and the judicial process. The film asks the question whether or not the legal system can truly deliver justice under extenuating circumstances and how regular people fill in the gaps.
Almost all actors play their parts perfectly. The defendants are portrayed as a cold blooded mastermind and a bumbling clueless accomplice respectively and both actors become their roles. Yeung Wai Lun's cold stare never changes through the whole movie while Mak Pui Tung always seems to be on the verge of mental collapse without it seeming fake or over the top.
The lawyers all sound and act like the real deal, special mention goes to Lam Hoi Fung who delivers a humorous performance as an amoral and apathetic criminal lawyer who couldn't care less about his client.
The family members of the defendants all carry great emotional weight and provoke strong feelings of sympathy and despair from the audience. Xiena Chong and Chu Pak Him do quite a bit for two small roles and give it their all, ending with brief but memorable appearances. Harriet Yeung gives an absolutely heartbreaking performance as the sister of the second defendant, making one believe that she was genuinely breaking down on the stand.
The jury scenes are terribly hard to sit through, it appears the director/screenwriter decided the audience to be intellectual children and so decided to turn every juror into a walking stereotype who slowly explains every little political implication out loud. The main exception to this is Kiki Cheung whose character is rather well rounded and relatable as a person at the same time.
The two defendants are disturbing not only because of their gruesome acts but also what they represent as gross exaggerations of everyday people.
Overall a very well made and intricate courtroom drama which prevails despite the mind numbingly patronizing and condescending jury scenes. Hope to see more of this amazing cast and crew do more work in the future.
Dexter: New Blood: Sins of the Father (2022)
Horribly Disappointing
I absolutely loved this series and was so excited to see Dexter return to action again. I was hoping for a logical conclusion and perhaps a teaser for a new season but this finale is one of the most disappointing things I have ever seen on television.
We barely get any time whatsoever dealing with the conflict between Harrison and Dexter as the former just found out the truth the previous episode, after spending so much time trying to connect with his father, Harrison suddenly decides to murder him out of the blue?
Dexter kills Logan out of nowhere while he simply could have knocked him out again, another move that makes no sense at all. We don't get sufficient closure on the Runaway murders as we only see Angela reacting to it briefly nor do we find out how she feels when she learned that Dexter killed Kurt, avenging the victims.
So much wasted potential ruined by lazy writing and poor choices, thoroughly and deeply disappointing and I hope that this is retconned in a later season.