frederick-benny Reviews

The Boys (2019– )

A fun new bold take on superheroes, but unfortunately a victim to its own success

[8/10 · 14 September 2022]

An amazing and bold take on superheroes who, rather than the conventional view of being noble and selfless, are very human in their fundamental desire to take advantage of their skills and use it to be as selfish, commercial and authoritarian as they can manage.

The cherry on top is how unapologetically forward the show is with a display of gore, language and a beautiful mix of real parallels from our society interwoven into this piece of fiction.

Unfortunately, after the first two seasons, it's evident that the show's writing has moved from creating creative content to focussing on its own longevity. The 3rd season serves no purpose but to set itself up for more seasons, and it's hard not to feel disappointed by the irony.

Money Heist (2017–2021)

A damn fine attempt at creating an exciting heist, but with a healthy dose of strong characters and thrills to keep you glued

[10/10 · 8 December 2021]

Not often when you finish a show and think to yourself "Holy moly, that happened!"

Season 1 & 2 were the OGs with the first heist and the entry into this world; I was damn wary when it was rebooted with Season 3 since it looked like a classic case of milking a good thing till the cow falls over, but damn... I am glad I was so wrong on that. It's like the writers were given Season 4 and 5 as the final chance to pour in every bit of character building, plot development and a tonne of thrills to end on an unexpected and a strong end.

If you haven't given 'Casa de Papel' / 'Money Heist' a shot yet, now's a damn fine time to do so.

Alice in Borderland (2020– )

Television show that believes it's an anime

[6/10 · 10 October 2021]

A little bit childish with over the top bad acting, and a wafer-thin plot.

Seems like an anime turned into motion picture without any attempt to make the characters or setting more realistic. It might have worked in the anime format but in this form, it just comes across as unnecessarily dramatic, corny and a bit annoying. Won't be keeping my eyes peeled for Season 2, but perhaps I'm not the target audience.

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013)

"Life is about courage and going into the unknown."

[10/10 · 4 January 2014]

I have been rating movies on IMDb for years but this is only the second time I am reviewing a movie. You know a movie has hit the soft spot when you go back home, close your eyes and fall into thoughts created by it.

The movie is the second big screen adaption (although not true to the original version) of the 1939 short story by James Thurber. It probably won't appeal to some but to many like me, it will be the kind that provocates thoughts about why you are where you are where you really want to be. It is about a man, that many will relate to, who is where he is because life brought him there. He is capable of being so much more who he is but is trapped in the existence that has been handed down to him. The only glimpse of his free side is trapped inside his imaginations which are revealed via his "zoning out" where he attempts to visualize the mundane events of his life into how he wishes they were. Exciting and vibrant.

It is only when life gives him a chance and he shows the courage to dive in, that he experiences a flash of who he can be. And it is glorious. It is such a powerful symbol to display what every "simple" individual is capable of being, provided they dare to.

A very strong factor for the convincing nature of the movie is Ben Stiller. He does a smack awesome job of being believable. He portrays the image of pure modest potential capped by the surrounding atmosphere. Ben Stiller's present age, physique and look fits into James Thurber's character seamlessly. 5 years older or younger and I doubt it would have had the same impact. The supporting characters do their job well but not well enough for me to sympathize or relate to. Jose Gonzale provides a few strong musical scores (The best being 'Step Out' that is also the prime number in the launch trailer) that set an underlying tone for the theme.

Ben Stiler mentioned in one of his interviews that he had spent 1.5 years editing this $80 million movie. An effort well spent, I reckon.

Date Night (2010)

A cheap comic flick with great but unused talent

[6/10 · 6 July 2010]

I didn't have any original plans of watching this movie. However, after reading quite a few good reviews of it, I decided to check if my prejudice had been correct. I have been a fan of Steve Carell & Tina Fey for some time, owing to their performances in The Office & 30 Rock. Alas, what they do in this movie is nothing even comparable to what they have achieved on the small screen. The movie is based around The Fosters, a simple family with the basic family problems: too much work, less time with family, a mechanical and repetitive routine, a boring life, annoying kids etc. The movie follows the predictive plot of this couple going out for a quiet evening which steam rolls into a supposedly crazy wild adventure.

Don't get me wrong, I don't mean to complain about the plot. Its a standard comic flick and not some thriller. I don't expect a revolutionary story but I do expect a few good laughs from the movie which it definitely failed to give me. It mostly comprised of 10yr old kids' level jokes and a whole lot of overacting. But to be fair, I must mention the acting was terrible on almost everyone's part and not just the main star cast.

Maybe its just because of so many movies following the average-person-goes-super path, that this seems so boring and unworthy of spending 2hrs on, but the fact is that people expect more of such a great cast. From corny 1 liners to repeated jokes (Mark Wahlberg's shirt uhhh....), if the things were not overdone so much, the movie may not have been this bad. But nevertheless, I guess I went for this movie with way too much expectations due to the cast. Watch it if you love the leads and have time to kill for some so-so jokes. Don't expect too much & you may just come out without a frown on your face.....