jdondale Reviews

Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie (2022)

Ignore the review bombers

[9/10 · 17 December 2022]

This was really good! It's a great continuation of the show, which was underrated and passed by many.

I'm a giant turtles fan. I've watched all the different series and read the comics. Although Rise, in my opinion, stands under the 2012 and 2003 series, it's still an amazing series. It took a while for it to reach its full potential, only doing so right at its end, but this movie continues with that momentum and carries it through.

It angers me that so many people trash anything with the turtles that doesn't look and copy the 1987 cartoon series. I grew up with that show and it is nostalgic, but it is by far the worst iteration of the turtles. If you don't believe me, go back and try watching it now like I did recently.

I will say, having watched the show beforehand probably made me like it even more, as it does take a bit to get used to how different the series is than normal turtle lore. But even so, it's well worth the watch for a real turtles fan.

Last Train to Christmas (2021)

Almost amazing

[6/10 · 2 December 2022]

This film has a really nice time travel premise and setup, and everyone was well acted, especially the brother. This has to be one of the best performances by Carey Elwes I've ever seen. It had so much potential but unfortunately fumbled it in the last ten minutes.

I enjoyed it so much that the poor execution at the end stood out even more. The film seemed to be coming together like a puzzle and leading towards a more solid conclusion but instead pulled the stop cord for a less satisfying, somewhat confusing end. They built up the character in a way that made his final actions seem like choices he wouldn't make.

All that said, I enjoyed the rest of the movie a quite a lot.

The Batman (2022)

If 'emo' was a movie

[5/10 · 28 May 2022]

Decent movie, just imagine the main pointers all actors got from the director was to act as sad and brooding as possible, and only move as if trapped in slo-mo.

Was nice to see Batman being more of a detective, for sure, and I do love mysteries. But the pacing was so overly slow it hurts the film greatly.

So much could have been cut out; all of Alfred's scenes for example, which were pointless and forgettable. And I do wish people moved at normal speeds rather than as slow as humanly possible. Not a world of people with ADHD, that's for sure.

Glad I didn't see it in theaters as it needed to be seen in 2 sittings, and I had to convince myself to sit through part 2. Sadly I hope a different director handles the next one as it does have potential.

The Bourne Legacy (2012)

Blue balls: the movie

[5/10 · 25 April 2022]

If you can get through the slow, disjointed first hour, the second hour is pretty good for the most part and seems more like a bourne film. Though in the end, there is no real point in this movie existing.

Unfortunately the movie kind of just... ends... I was very confused when I heard the signature ending music start playing as there was no real resolution or conclusion. All the problems they were running from are still there, nothing was solved. It's like if I stopped writing before finishing my

There aren't many positives aside from some cool action scenes, but even then you need to push through the first hour just to get to them. The story in the second half was pretty good but ultimately went nowhere.

The Bourne Supremacy (2004)

I wish I could see the action

[6/10 · 23 April 2022]

Decent film, even if it is weakest entry of the original Bourne trilogy. I'm sure the action scenes were well choreographed too, but it's too bad the cameraman was having constant seizures everytime they happened.

I have never seen a film with so much shakey cam before aside from maybe The Blair Witch. It's so bad I actually felt nauseous at times. By the end I found myself picking up my phone whenever the action started as I knew I wouldn't see it anyway.

But the story isn't bad, so there's that.

Brave (2012)

Finally a great female role model for kids

[7/10 · 17 April 2022]

As an adult this movie was only ok. The CG was fantastic but the plot is highly predictable.

But for kids this movie is a whole other story. I would have loved to see more female main characters like this in movies while I was growing up. A strong, talented character who is so because she worked hard despite what everyone else said. And a Disney movie without the forced romance and "women need to find a strong man" message makes this one stand out.

I hope we see more characters like this, ones who are actually more like real people, flaws and all, so kids can look up to them. Unlike most heroes in today's movies who are naturally great at everything without needing to work for it.

Legion (2017–2019)

A stylistic mystery

[10/10 · 24 March 2022]

Giving this show a 10 for the first season alone. The style, cinematography, acting, and writing were all top notch and like nothing I have ever seen before. But this is definitely not for everyone.

If you need to be spoon fed a plot (have every single thing explained to you in a simply way so you understand), don't like mysteries or don't have the brain power to fill in some blanks and make connections, you will hate it.

But if you enjoy puzzles, art, and experiencing something that hasn't been done a million times before, it's worth the time.

I would recommend skipping the second and third seasons as they are a bit of a mess, especially the second season. Just enjoy the first season and pretend it ends there.

Tomorrowland (2015)

A movie for the dreamers

[9/10 · 6 March 2022]

If you're a dreamer, an optimist, creative, you think differently then most, or you wonder why everybody focuses on the negtive but can't see the positive, then this movie is for you.

Well shot, well acted, and I find it inspiring.

Spaced (1999–2001)

Perfection. A classic.

[10/10 · 27 February 2022]

They say the family of the 21st century is made up of friends and not relatives and if that's true, then these are the best siblings I ever had.

Amazing writing, acting, directing, humor and references. I wish there was more of it, at least one more season... but what we got I will revisit over and over again.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021)

Fun movie unless you think about it...

[3/10 · 13 January 2022]

So many subplots and screen time that go nowhere and are never resolved.

Did the teenage kid and girl ever get together? No clue.

Did the mom and Paul rudd get together? No clue.

Did the kid who only existed to be the "comic relief" ever do anything with his podcast? Besides Ray listening to it, nope.

They made a big point of saying when Egon ran away he stole all thier proton packs and equipment which put them out of business, but then the old Ghostbusters show up at the end with proton packs and all their gear, knowing exactly where to go... why? How?

Never explained.

The best part of the movie were the 2 after credit scenes.

The Suicide Squad (2021)

Boring

[3/10 · 8 August 2021]

An action movie where the action was extremely limited. Instead they chose to focus on having characters stand around talking and trying to be funny. Some of it lands, most of it doesn't, which just resulted in getting incredibly bored by the mid-way point.

For a movie with such a big cast they chose to put the main focus on the least interesting ones which left me not caring about any of them and thus the outcome of the movie.

Only positive was the music choices.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021)

A lot of potential with little payoff

[4/10 · 26 July 2021]

The writers obviously do not understand the concept of 'show, don't tell'.

When the writers feel the big plot message needs to be spelled out for people in a long dialogue sequence, it makes the audience feel like they're watching a kids show or being lectured. You can get across deep messages without words but with actions and sequences if you're a talented writer, which is a skill they lacked.

Whoever thought people watch super hero movies/shows to see them struggling with issues such as trying to get a bank loan or going to therapy, obviously don't understand why people like superheroes. Yes it might humanize them more, but it's also the things people typically watch these kinds of movies to escape from.

The first two episodes are slow paced and not great. The middle two episodes actually had good pacing and character development. The second last episode slows to a crawl and the final episode does not deliver on all the possibilities the rest of the season had set up. Which just left me feeling disappointed and with unanswered questions.

The main villain felt like they had a lot of potential but it was never delivered on. Same with other characters I won't mention so I don't spoil things.

If you want to keep up to date with what's happening in the marvel universe everything meaningful that transpired in this show can be summed up into one sentence. So, it's really not worth the 5 hour runtime.

The Tomorrow War (2021)

Would give it a 6.5 if I could

[6/10 · 23 July 2021]

A decent action film if you don't think too hard about the plot.

The acting was good for the most part.

Yvonne Strahovski being the highlight and stealing the show. Chris Pratt gave the worst performance in the film, acting like he was there more for the paycheque. Which is a shame given he is the lead and so he has the most screen time.

The pacing of the movie is all over the place. I hate it when movies show a big world changing event only to immediately do a large time jump forward. We start off feeling just as shocked as the people in the movie only to jump forward 12 months, and the event is now old news to everyone. Leaving us as the viewer with no resolution to those feelings.

The last act of the movie seems incredibly rushed as well, almost like it could have been the plan for a sequel but instead they slammed it into this movie.

The best part about the film is the CG which is incredible and very well done. My hat is off to the animators.

All in all it kept my attention for the runtime but it won't be something I remember for too long or think about often.