exlana Reviews

Dramarama (2020)

no band-aids for the growing pains

[9/10 · 19 May 2024]

Dramarama is surprisingly very grounded, light hearted and charming . I'm a sucker for bottle film and this one takes the cake. I love how simplistic and intimate this film is. Just 5 ordinary friends being silly and goofy, hanging out for one last time. It efficiently captures the innocence and the naivety of being a teen

It's very well-made, decent acting, camera style and the story flows naturally. Coming into this film i don't expect to get this much emotion. This films feels like made specifically for adults with mid-life crisis who wants to reminiscing their younger years. Simply beautiful.

9/10 Welp, i missed my friends now.

Challengers (2024)

..and they were roommates

[7/10 · 18 May 2024]

If you're not a tennis fan, Challengers is basically just 3 rich attractive people doing rich attractive people things, which include moaning, sweating and playing tennis. None of the characters are likeable, and they're all clearly toxic for each other. If the actors aren't as good looking as they are it wouldn't get this much hype.

Coming into this film, I thought the story would center around world champions for tennis player or something, but they weren't even in the top 100. But i guess there's deeper meaning to it than just tennis. I like the cinematography towards the end, but the music sounds like it came from an obscene film from the 80s

7/10.

The Coffee Table (2022)

beating a dead 'horse'

[7/10 · 15 May 2024]

... sorry for the bad pun. I have read and saw many reviews that The Coffee Table is one of the most disturbing film of the year. And sure, there are some disturbing aspects but they're beating a dead horse by trying to make a coherent film off one scene. For almost 45 minutes the film continues, without actually going anywhere

That being said, It's not necessarily a bad film. In fact, i enjoyed it. But if you expect something 'disturbing' you might want to lower your expectation. This film is advertised as 'uncomfortable, utterly dark film' and honestly think film is as 'anxiety inducing' as Shiva Baby.

7/10.

Poor Things (2023)

Is the poor things in the room with us ?

[4/10 · 1 March 2024]

If it wasn't for the facts that it was made by A-lists director and actors, and for the quirky, cool production, Poor Things wouldn't be critically acclaimed.

I believe the original novel was released in 1992, and most of the things that supposed 'empower' women are clearly outdated, and borderline bigot. It really feels like the 'poor things' was written by someone with all the privileges in the world. And i don't see the commentaries to being fit to our current society, and ended up being pretentious. It's neither captivating nor thought provoking.

4/10 maybe the real poor things was friendship made along the way.

Argylle (2024)

'we have kingsman at home'

[6/10 · 31 January 2024]

Everything about Argylle feels uninspired. From the screenwriting, directing and acting, everyone seems to do it just for the sake of doing their job. Eeryone's acting is very lackluster, borderline bearable, except for Bryce Dallas. Sis trying so hard to carry this movie.

Though the twists is nice, and some action scene are fun to see, every dialouge is cringeworthy. Not gonna surprised if AI is involved. The double ex machina and the pandering towards cat lovers is a cardinal sin to screenwriting. And there's little to no redeeming quality of the directing either. Definitely skippable

6/10 Overall mid.

Gen V (2023– )

dick jokes getting old

[5/10 · 21 December 2023]

The over the top 'gross' overtly sexual bloody gorn weird kinky fetish jokes was funny (not even that funny) back in 2020, but now it's getting overused, and by the end of first episode i desensitized.

I like the plot in general, there's nothing necessarily 'fresh', but there are some depth to it. But unfortunately these plots drowned by these side plots that no one cares about.

There's a lot of cringe lines, and most of the jokes misses my head. It feels like it was written by a baby boomer who thinks this is what younger generations finds funny.

Overall just plain messy and feels lackluster 5/10.

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (2023)

We Sing, We Dance, We Murder Little Children - The Musical

[7/10 · 15 November 2023]

I was a bit mislead when i thought The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes is gonna be about the early days look of the game, but instead it's actually about Snow and how his 'innocence' ends. Although I enjoy how brutal and violence this film is, it lacks of thrill, little to no action, and have a weird amount of singing scene.... and for what reason?

Blyth did a good job portraying Snow and his characters is well written, while Zegler's character lacks of charm and borderline cringe. But i guess kudos to her for trying. The third act pace dropped dramatically, while feel rushed at the same time with some unclear plot point and abrupt end.

7/10.

Lackluster, but i still enjoyed it.

The Curse (2023– )

i don't know what to make of it

[6/10 · 13 November 2023]

From what i know, The Curse is supposed to be intentionally 'cringe' or 'uncomfortable' but in a funny goofy way. It's just cringe. I don't think i laughed at all. The jokes must've flew over my head. Though Nathan and Emma acted really well, i can't say that their character are likeable enough for the audience to care.

It shot decently, i like the focus on the 'grey area' of a satire charity reality show. But it's too slow paced with barely anything happened. The major plot points are very unrealistic. It's a far stretched, to somehow makes it relate to the title (i know it's a bit ambiguous, I'm trying not to spoil anything)

6/10.

The Killer (2023)

Panders too much for the Fight Club film-bro

[6/10 · 10 November 2023]

Although it's slow, Fincher set the tone for The Killer decently with great visual and dark, nocturne atmosphere. It's moody, 'mysterious', and Fassbender wasn't so bad. But after a while, hope for the film to pick up its pace, but it never did. Then you realize 'The Smiths' soundtrack started makes sense..

It's quiet, minimalistic, there just enough stuff to makes the story going but not enough to makes it interesting. Though it's still well-made, but overall felt bland as it's lack of any kind of thrill and lots of aspects of The Killer serve no purpose other than makes it 'stylish'

6/10

Atleast the poster is cool.

Bad Samaritan (2018)

insufferable protagonist with savior complex

[3/10 · 3 November 2023]

I don't know why this film categorize as 'horror', as the only scary thing about Bad Samaritan is how bad the script is. On top of extremely cheesy, ridiculously lame and over-the-top screenplay with excruciatingly bad dialogue, the protagonists are insufferable whiny brat with savior complex. .

Here's the thing, I understand that it's a B rated film, and i would've given some slacks, but this film literally feels like it's written by a bored accountant, who one day decides to write a screenplay just because he has a director friend, and this director friend is too polite to say anything bad about his friend's screenplay and alas the next thing he knows, they ended up making this into an actual film, all because he was a bad samaritan. (ba dum tss)

Such a shame, the actors acted pretty well, what a waste. Crazy how so many people rated it higher than a 5. Must be paid reviews. Smh my head.

3/10 Avoid at all cost.

When Evil Lurks (2023)

there's no point in praying

[8/10 · 27 October 2023]

Right off the bat, not even 10 minutes into the film Cuando acecha la maldad (When Evil Lurks) hook us into, what i first i thought, is a body horror. And oh boy, they really don't shy away from the violence and gore. It's amazing that even with the 'shocking' beginning, this film manage to gets even progressively gruesome.

It's well acted (shout out Ezequiel Rodríguez ), beautiful cinematography, an overall well-made film with a sprinkle of poignant family drama. Though it's a genuinely scary film, it's noticeably flawed. It weirdly paced, (which i personally don't mind). At times, It can be somewhat unclear of what's really going on as we learn the 'rules' as the film goes.

But despite its fuzzy script, WEL is still a decent film with some nice twists and definitely one of the better horror films of the year. I watched Demián Rugna 's interview on how he tried to push the limit of what could happened in horror films, and i think he did it in this film.

8/10.

Rotting in the Sun (2023)

blinded by the 'flashing lights'

[6/10 · 21 October 2023]

Overall, Rotting in the Sun has everything it takes to make a decent thriller. It's pacy, it's good kind of chaotic, well acted by the protagonists and interesting twists and turn.

I get that excessive drugs use from the hedonistic protagonists seems like a 'social commentary' of influencers life, but it ended up being tacky. Haven't you heard, hedonism is no longer cool in this economy ?

Coming into this film i expect a certain degree of nudity, but my goodness, i didn't expect this many flashing of male genitalia and explicit sex scenes that pretty much a 'corn'.

These things felt like it serves as a 'shock value', with purpose to compensate other things that this film lack of, and that is humor. It has nothing to do with the story and i don't see any reason why this is necessary.

I watched this film cause of some rave on tiktok. Maybe it's not the most reliable apps to gets films recommendation.

The Fall of the House of Usher (2023)

Better than The Midnight Club, worse than the rest of Flanagan series.

[7/10 · 14 October 2023]

I'm not familiar with the original Poe materials, so i review it as its own thing.

Good Thing: it's 'properly' produced, have a nice concept, acting is good, visual is good, i like the recasting of the actors.

Bad Thing: It's not as scary. Though the drama is not bad, it's way too slow paced and is running in circle. It's hard to care about the main characters, let alone the extras.

And what's with these woke, overly sexualized , self-indulged characters? I know they're trying to be progressive, and I'm all for representations. But it so excessive that makes it tacky.

Haven't you heard, hedonism is no longer cool ?

7/10.

Oppenheimer (I) (2023)

anxiety inducing court-room horror

[9/10 · 27 July 2023]

As any Nolan films, you'd expect a certain amount of depth from his films, and i think this one tops it. Oppenheimer is anxiety inducing back-and-forth 'court-room' horror-esque , with majestic sound mixing. Whoever in charge of sounds, my guy deserves an OSCAR.

I appreciate that Nolan centers the story around Oppenheimer as a person, and not just simply for the 'nuke'. Though, It takes a while to get a good grasp of the plotline, and i can see ways on how the first hour can be shortened as i don't think it's a necessarily needs to be a 3 hour long films.

9/10.

Cillian, Emily and Roberts are amazing, and also what's with these STACKED casts ??

Barbie (I) (2023)

hot pink cotton candy mess

[5/10 · 25 July 2023]

Barbie is a hot pink mess, that ironically sees world in two dimensional black and white. Aside from Margot and Ryan, all the characters are literal one dimensional bimbo.

Yes, i'm aware of the over the top humour, and almost cartoonish art direction is intentional. Yes, there's supposedly more 'substance' , than the style's portrayed. But the message is so generic, and only on surface level that nothing that hasn't been done before.

TO BE FAIR, some part of it is actually enjoyable, and i had a few laugh. Margot and Ryan are great, but the rest of the casts is awkard. And the ending is kinda nice. Overall it's ended up being a 'meh' for me.

5/10 Puking rainbow.

Evil Dead Rise (2023)

bloody fun time

[9/10 · 9 May 2023]

I haven't nor i am a fan of the original trilogy of evil dead, and i think the 2013's film is decent. But seeing this film as it is, is actually bloody good horror, dare i say it's one of best horror in years.

I can understand how some people think this version is somewhat 'watered down'. But the fact that Cronin casts an actual child as a 'lead' (not some background character), and all these horror shenanigans happens to these casts, is a bold move.

There's no implausible ex machina, very well acted especially the mom, the characters doesn't made stupid decisions, it's visually stunning film, (for a horror film) it's well written and far from bland.

Overall it's highly enjoyable.

9/10.

Scream VI (2023)

if you think about it, literally nothing happened...

[3/10 · 26 April 2023]

Okay hear me out, Scream VI is utterly insignificant and add LITERALLY nothing to the franchise, and here's why :

• characters that died in Scream VI are the main characters' random a$$ roommates, that the purposes of these characters are just to be killed off

• 4 main characters from previous franchise got stabbed, but DIDN'T DIED..? What even the purpose of this film, literally has zero progression

Did who ever made this film crows at 6 am, cause they are one heck of a chicken. Playing it as safe as it gets. The red herring that nO oNe sAfE including the main characters is just plain annoying.

Extremely skippable 3/10.

Jury Duty (2023– )

life's not stranger than fiction

[6/10 · 10 April 2023]

Jury Duty has a remarkable premise to built a compelling a scripted 'reality tv'. It has a great set up, i like the way its made, and the actors did a decent job making things look natural, but the problem is it's not very realistic...

The strings of event that happened throughout is very absurd, peculiar and often times too much... and unnecessary. I find it hard to believe that the guy doesn't realize or even suspect that something fishy going on. Which kinda takes the fun out of it..

Though I do appreciate the wholesomeness, i don't particularly care that much. Idk maybe i'm just bitter and old

Anyway, a bit overhyped. If you take out the fact that it's a 'reality' show, ironically, it made a somewhat decent sitcom.

6/10.

Infinity Pool (2023)

blood, nudity, visual trance, rinse repeat.

[5/10 · 23 February 2023]

I never actually liked watching Possessor, it's way too slow, the supposedly 'visually horror' ended up being painfully dull.. and Infinity Pool is pretty much the same. I watched this film looked somewhat decent, unfortunately the film is not.

It's almost feels like Cronenberg watched midsommar or hereditary one day and, had massive epiphany that excessive nudity, sex and bloods equal 'good horror'. I guess he forgot about plot. Silly mistakes, i know. It's basically Blumhouse's Fantasy Island, with degrading kinks. It's not deep, yet it tried so hard.

4/10.

'Infinity Pool is a film that has nothing to say, and lacks the words to say it'

Babylon (I) (2022)

chazelle is a fool who dreams..

[5/10 · 4 February 2023]

I read that people hates this film because people expect to see something wholesome like La La Land, but instead Babylon shows the darker side of hollywood. I disagree. I think people hate this film because with how excessive, extravagant or overindulgent this film is, it ended up being painfully average.

Sure, they have billion dollar casts, the visual and sounds are stunning and the production is omega expensive, but it doesn't tell a good story. With so much things happen, from one chaotic prologue to an even more chaotic ending, there's so little going on. The writing is excruciating dull, so full of itself and had been done hundreds of time.

Aren't we getting tired of another film about 'golden days' hollywood , there's literally 2 of those this year. We get it, film changes people lives blah blah blah, there's tens too many film about it.

5.4/10 mid.

Soft & Quiet (2022)

it's a cruel world out there

[6/10 · 7 January 2023]

Soft & Quiet is not the kind of horror film that gets you 'scared', but it's the kind that makes you uncomfortable. Like, extremely uncomfortable. There are some *possible* political 'agenda' here but i'm reviewing this film as is.

It started almost like a dark comedy with its satirical vibes, but then it gets darker, and darker. It has a decent story progression, but after a certain points, you'll kinda know where the film is going. Though, it'll still makes you uncomfortable nonetheless.

Some of the plot aspects are a bit over the top, there are few dull moments. But I really enjoy the one-take-esque camera style and the acting is decent.

6/10 A fresh horror in years, but nothing groundbreaking.

Faults (2014)

the devils in the details.

[7/10 · 7 January 2023]

'A Fault is a fracture. It's a place where pressure builds, and builds until it releases'

.. and what is that has to do with this film? I have no idea, either. Fault is a comedy thriller-esque, that explore a cultist and his attempt to un-brain-wash a cult victim. It's extremely well acted, and overall very well made for an indie film. Visually beautiful, decently directed.

Plot wise it's fresh, it's something that i think is unprecedented. The writing in general, though cleverly written and far from shallow, is a bit mixed. Some of the humor felt out of place, the plot points are too subtle (at least for me), i had to watch rewatch some scenes to get better understanding of what really happens. And the ending, though i personally liked it, is a hit or miss.

7/10 It's a decent film, but a bit confusing. I understand the film, but can't help but feeling there's a deeper meaning that i missed.

Mythic Quest (2020– )

Mythic Quest is as if Rob and Charlie made Silicon Valley

[9/10 · 6 January 2023]

This series is basically Silicon Valley if Silicon Valley was made by the Always Sunny gang. It's dark, dry, witty humor, though this one is way lighter. It's quick paced, hit most of the jokes, some emotional moments and there's enough 'social commentary' without it being too pretentious. Though it's not as 'practical and realistic' as sil valley, it still has somewhat a decent progression.

There's a 'stand alone' episode in each season, that i think worth mentioning. But my favorite (and highest rated episode) stand alone episode in first season is one of the best piece you'll watch on small screen. It's brilliant.

I guess the cons of this series is at times (rarely), a bit redundant and kinda dull. But overall worth watching

9/10 binge-worthy.

White Noise (I) (2022)

ignore the white noise

[4/10 · 30 December 2022]

I don't know how to describe this film, but it almost feels like watching 3 different films. It started like a parody of dead poet society, then follows up by a parody of war of the world, then a parody of unfaithful. And it seems like there's no correlation between these sequences.

Yes, i'm aware White Noise is a satire of a supposedly average american family dealing with mundane troubles of death, live, love blah blah blah. Yes, i know it's based on a novel. No, i haven't read the novel. But seeing this film as is, and for whatever this film trying to be, i don't find it entertaining. Most of the humorous aspects are cringe.

4/10.

It's a 'surrealism film' , but not really.

Aftersun (II) (2022)

no beginnings, no ends

[6/10 · 26 December 2022]

Aftersun tells a story of a woman 'recollecting' a holiday she spent with father. On the surface level, that's literally it. It's well made, beautifully shot, and the dynamic of the two leads is superb. But there's little to none plot elements and subtexts that are way too subtle, that makes this film goes nowhere, and at times dull...

Yes, i understand there's a deeper meaning to it, and it helps to appreciate this film better once i knew what it's really about. But, i don't think it's an efficient way to enjoy a film, nor it should be. Style over substances makes it way harder to emphasize with the protagonists, at least for me. Regardless, I don't mind necessarily mind the simplicity, and enjoyed its melancholia.

6/10 overall it's an ok film, but too artsy for my taste.