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Reviews
Blue Beetle (2023)
What Could Have Been.
Blue Beetle isn't one of the well known DC characters. My only experience with him was from the Young Justice cartoons, which was positive. Blue Beetle is another DC superhero movie failure. A Latino superhero movie that was predictable, had uninspiring characters, a weak, boring villain, and a movie that played too much on Latino stereotypes. This could have been an inspiring Latino superhero movie that many could have related to and enjoyed instead it became a jumbled, boring, amateurish mess. No, even Nana couldn't save this mess of movie. The sad part is that the 2 leads seem to have amazing chemistry together based on their rounds of promotions. But have none in the actual movie. And based on the quality of the movie, it should have been direct to Max not worthy of a theatrical release. How many poorly made DC/WB movies can be made? All I can say is a wise man once said, "That the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result." Can James Gunn save the DC universe? Stay tuned!
The Flash (2023)
Watch the Animated Movie Instead.
After hearing all this buzz by WB/DC executives, you would have thought this was the rebirth of WB/DC. Well, it looks like those executives were on the same stuff as Aaron Rodgers. Watch the animated movie, Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox since it's far better. The Supergirl and Batman sequences overshadow Flash to the point, where Flash felt more like support character. I wouldn't be surprised if there is a Supergirl movie in the works. But WB/DC will probably screw that up even with new leadership from Gunn, who had his own issues. It's just a messy movie with such a large budget of $200M, why is the CGI so poor? And I haven't even factored in Miller's controversies, which should have gotten him fired. And the Batman running joke ended with easily the worst version of Batman ever.
Antebellum (2020)
What in the World Did I Watch?!
I had high hopes for this movie. Released during a pandemic, numerous protests, social unrest, and seeing meaningful changes happening. The timing of Antebellum was almost "perfect." Or so I thought. This movie is offensive in a way that undermines everything good that has happened from the protests. This movie is so bad and perplexing especially coming from the producers of Us and Get Out. Rest assured Jordan Peele had nothing to do with this horrendous movie.
At first watching this movie was a bit uncomfortable. It takes place just before the Civil War hence the name Antebellum. The Confederate soldiers were in full force. In the opening scene black slaves tried to escape and they were caught and punished. One female slave was dragged by a noose then shot. The main lead or Eden is taken to her cabin and for her punishment she is branded. She's repeated rape as well. The female slave that was killed was burned and her ashes remained in an outhouse. More slaves are brought in because hey, they keep killing the ones they have already. Eden falls asleep and awakes in modern times. Her smartphone goes off. She has a family; a loving husband and daughter. She's on TV as well having a discussion about white oppression with a man that looks eerily similar to Joe Biden. I guess they couldn't afford Alec Baldwin to play Trump in the movie. All is well or is it? I think okay there are alternate timelines or a dual reality. No, the twist makes Dumb and Dumber an Oscar worthy movie. It's that bad. There is no alternative timeline or multi-verse. The answer is much, much simpler or dumber. It's all the same timeline. You see the white daughter, mother, father, plantation owner all in modern times. You almost get the Redrum scene or feel with the little girl. You see the wokeness with the Jefferson suite, the scarlet red lipstick, plantation owner/name initials on her jewelry, the use of Eden or paradise, and Veronica talking about the "angry black woman"; and breaking the chains of oppression by white society, using buzz words like liberation over assimilation. She's, also, selling her book, which is commercializing her plight. You get Veronica or Eden's friend say she doesn't spend enough time on herself or she's too hard on herself, while she's doing hot yoga or after a workout. She has a friend that's "Precious", the other is a token white friend; of course, then there's the repetition that black slaves must stay silent, say your name over and over again to Eden ( I don't know if that's referencing Roots or Destiny's Child), and Veronica wearing Ivy Park. She's Gen Z woke. One has to wonder if this movie was a made during the pandemic that the Becky reference would have changed to Karen. Then the twist happens and the "Confederates" kidnap Eden/Veronica. She awakes in her cabin getting raped again. But somehow a smartphone is present. Fast forward, Eden/Veronica kills the man that constantly raped her and locked the three other white men in the outhouse. She burns the men alive in the same place as the female slave. It's payback. Then she carries her ax and it sort of reminds me of Pocahontas and she's riding a horse through a Civil War reenactment in slow-motion. No, I can't make this stuff up. Then you see a large sign that gets bulldozed at the end the movie with "Civil War Reenactment" So you can sum up this movie as a bunch of hardcore Confederate reenactors go full throttle and do their method acting on educated African American white collar employees. The only thing missing was the burning of the Confederate flag.
The Old Guard (2020)
An action movie?
I went in not knowing what expect aside from it being an action movie. Within the first 5 to 10 minutes, all the main characters are dead. But then I see bullets coming out from their heads and such. Well, now this is interesting. They use hand guns, assault rifles, and medieval weapons. Yes they went old school with swords and a some type of religious symbol looking axe helmed by Charlize Theron. That's best action sequence in the movie. The rest is all talk about being immortals, feelings, past companions (There's actually a cool backstory to a past female companion that should have been utilized in the movie more.), and they discover a new immortal. To prove she's an immortal Theron kills her again. Then mentions that you can heal then you stop and die eventually. Well if a cat has nine lives. They end up in a remote area that's been abandoned for decades then their location is all of sudden infiltrated. One of the immortals is left with his insides torn out or bloodied because he wanted to make it less obvious. Theron finds him tortured and left for "dead." Of course there's an evil pharma bro that wants to use them to make billions by making a miracle drug. The man that betrayed at the beginning is spared at the end. And what you're left with is wasted talent and a narrative that should have been satisfying, thought provoking, and engaging. There was so much potential to make a great movie and we end with this.
Warrior Nun (2020)
What Were They Thinking?
Imagine being a teenage girl that never experienced a life of her own. That's the female protagonist, who acts like a spoiled brat, when she is gifted a second life, infused with heavenly powers, and a purpose she did not have before. Now she's entrusted with being the halo bearer out of a chance because she was just there. Even with demons from Hell appearing..... she wants to kiss the boy and thinks " Oh, God he's hot, Oh God, I want to kiss him." That sums up 5 episodes. She tries to run away from everything except the "hot" guy. The storyline changes because the hot guy doesn't want any part of that demon life. End hot guy story. Then you have Shotgun Mary, who's sort of a nun, I guess. She wears a hoodie, a trench coat, has cornrows, and carries you guessed it, 2 shotguns because hand to hand combat is boring. She's different but the same. All the characters are playing stereotypes including the main lead or the the spoiled brat because she blames everyone else but herself, you have Shotgun Mary that has no problems saying "God Damn it.", the overachiever Nun or the teacher's pet, you have the evil, power hunger Cardinal, the Priest, the head Nun, an order of Warrior Nuns training to defeat Hell's best, a misfit of companions, and an evil corporation that's up to no good or is she. Then you have the Doomsday looking beast from Hell, the stand off with the antagonist, and a cliffhanger that reminds of the last episode of Angel. Predictable but bingeable.
Penny Dreadful: City of Angels (2020)
This Show is Dreadful.
The original was a rich tapestry of characters with depth, a gothic journey into witches, werewolves, Dr. Frankenstein, Dorian Gray and his excess, a wealthy nobleman/hunter, and vampires with an amazing cast leading to an all-out battle against Dracula. This incarnation is horrid. The characters are hollow, empty, and boring. It started off with a murder like a noire trying to find the killer. The production value seems lesser, the acting is lesser, and hearing Natalie Dormer in spoken word trying to do a Spanglish accent was hilarious. It plays out more like a drama than the supernatural elements. It strays too far from the elements that made Penny Dreadful an amazing ride with Eva Green's haunting eyes to her nuanced acting to Timothy Dalton's excellent acting. The creators for City of Angels should have used this as a plot. Los Angeles or downtown Los Angeles, where the DOC stands now in 1924 had an outbreak of the Plague. Imagine that as the backdrop with the supernatural elements. It would have been more compelling especially with the pandemic we're facing now. It could still discuss race, gentrification, police, social justice....... along with the ritualistic killing of a white woman. It would have been something everyone could relate to because it deals with current issues. Instead they created this mess and I may stop watching this after episode 6. It's sad to see this mess after how much I loved the original Penny Dreadful. This current show is dreadful and not even worth a penny to watch.
Batwoman (2019)
What a Mess!
I've watched great DC shows like Arrow, Flash, Titans, Legends, Gotham..... And nothing would prepare me for this mess. I can't see it going an entire season. This will be canceled. I had high hopes. I've seen the old stuff like Birds of Prey, Flash, Lois and Clark....... This version of Batwoman feels like it's stuck in the late 80s to early 90s trying to be a modern interpretation of the Batwoman mythos. The main lead was a terrible choice. If they wanted that look, I would have gone with Cindy Simone or Sin from Arrow or Maggie Grace from Fear the Walking Dead. Similar look and would have been a better option. The main villain feels like a rip off of Harley Quinn from Birds of Prey. I can't find anything redeeming about this show. They should have done Barbara Gordon going to college and donning the Batgirl suit. It fits with the CW better. Now we're stuck with Batwoman and I won't be watching episode 4. I've suffered enough.
L!fe Happens (2011)
Could Have Been Amazing!
Kate Bosworth was great in the movie. Krysten Ritter was great as well. Justin Kirk, who played Henri was great as well. And no he's not French. Rachael Bilson was amazing. They could have made a movie on just her. From Valley of Dolls to America's Last Virgin. She was awesome. So what went wrong? The script didn't have enough development in the relationships. Kim and Deena looked comfortable and their rapid fire exchange showed they had great chemistry but it didn't happen enough, which is why Bilson's character stood out the most since she did it on her own. She was sweet, innocent, fun, kind, and sexy in a sweet girl next door way. Then there's Nicolas and the baby. Why? The story centers around this for a good portion of the movie then Kim finds herself. This could have been Bridesmaid fun. Instead it ends up being a movie that falls flat. It remembers me of Life as We Know It and Friends with Kids. Both which are better than this. But I would love to see Rachael Bilson, Kate Bosworth, Krysten Ritter, and Justin Kirk do a spin off of sorts minus the baby and Nicolas. And Jason Biggs? Wasted effort.