Change Your Image
MarcoOkka
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Reviews
Invasion (2021)
Out of focus
Sc-Fi drama with focus on beautiful camera angles and nice after-effects more than a story. Invasion of green men from space in a mainstream concept but without advancement in storytelling. Story line is so blurry that it seams out of focus and it's tempo could be compared to hibernation.
Good actors and acting in general, which makes it all a bit tragic. What a waste. The motivation to click to watch the next episode is absent. I'd rather floss my toothbrush for 41 minutes than continua watching episode 5 "Going Home". For me this series ended here,
The Matrix Resurrections (2021)
Unexpected
As a Matrix fan, I was looking forward to the fourth live action movie but did not have high expectations. The strange thing was that while the film takes a new grip on the story, it is familiar. Too familiar. It feels like shortcuts have been taken just about everywhere and it does not get any better that they have used about 75% too many clips from old Matrix movies to maintain a sustainable level of freshness. Here, a stronger story could have elevated the film.
At the same time as I saw something exciting emerge on the screen, there was a feeling of a B-remake. I understand that hard core fans feel disappointed in many ways. The frame story is brilliant but the ongoing story is thin. The movie does not quite reach the level with the two live action sequels to the first movie but almost. In any case, I did not expect that either. It's hard to follow up on such a success as the original trilogy and live up to expectations. After all, they have at least overcome my worst fears about how bad it could have been. A compliment for that. The flashbacks were too many and strangely exposed. They should have been replaced by a better story. The acting was not 100% convincing but a compliment to several of the younger actors. A lot of action scenes were like in most films, but of course there was some innovation that tickled a little extra. There were both some variations on classic Matrix action but also some originality. The end felt a bit final. There is an opening in this story for a new direction in The Matrix universe and a sequel that could provide a wealth of new stories. Somehow it feels like someone wants to put a little vague end to the story of Neo and Trinity.
After all, the movie is clearly worth seeing and satisfies those who wanted to see Neo and Trinity once again put on the black coats. My rating will not be better than six, even if it is with doubt that I set it so high. The satisfaction of a sequel that did not quite suck really badly probably influenced me to give it an extra point. Had I not been a fan, it would probably have stopped at five or maybe even just five on a cloudy day.
Y: The Last Man (2021)
Yet another apocalytic show...
Another apocalyptic show and nothing new. You might think a movie about the extinction of all men (almost) could offer something new to the genre. No, it does not. The depiction of the struggling society of the ones that survived uses all the same cliché. A lost opportunity do do something new and interesting.
The Tomorrow War (2021)
Amazin story flaw!
It is amazing that so many reviewers got it but obviously no one in the film crew got it. The film died when Pratt was sent back in time with the poison.
When writers underestimate viewers intelligence there is no rescue for a movie regardless how well made or played. A good writer could make the movie work after Pratt returned to "now". Just getting the future poison that can save the world back in time does not save the world. There is a story to tell how the poison was used to fight the future invasion. The way this movie does it is not even close to plausible. There is so many possibilities to make an amazing ending for this otherwise great movie. I find it hard to understand how this version of the movie got released. It should never have reached the audience. It is sad that the crew of this movie was betrayed by this disastrous mistake.
The core of the story deserve a rewrite. If we only could go back in time...
The Innocence Files (2020)
But will it make a differance?
Unusually not so much repetitive docu-series from US. It is still slow advancing and some what repetitive built up depiction of an event. The aim of captivating drama can some times be to much. Almost all documentaries are like this today. Something that what takes 1-2 hours to view would take 15-45 minutes to explain with more density in the telling. I'm not saying that shorter and more intense telling is better but it would be a change for once if they had brought down the episodes to 45 minutes each instead of an hour. So many things that is understood with a even low IQ is slowly depicted not only once but several times. Makes me as viewer to feel like they think I'm an imbecile. To be fair, this show did much better than other crime documentary shows in general.
As no-American I get a picture of a legal system that is more concerned in conviction than justice. If a suspect is found it stops there. The decision is made by police, prosecution, victims and their families there and then. If some what the evidence at some point does not ad up it is common that prosecution narrative is altered, and as shown - evidence to, to fit with goal to convict no matter what. The interest to be just falls flat when a suspect is pinned in the schedule to be processed in the legal system. It becomes prestige. A prestigious legal system is in opposition to a just and equal legal system.
This series depict a flawed system. I can't imagine that all cases are handled the same same way every time and every where but it gives a picture of a justice culture that is far from safe for any one that some how gets involved in a legal process. A culture that makes it easy, even preferable in some cases for some involved, to be unjust and with alternative objectives.
Some thing that I miss in all this is the medias role in all of this. The pressure starts there and with a snowball effect it brakes the barricade that is put up to just and equal protect innocent and serve justice. Political agendas is manipulated by tossing public opinion in a direction that is best received by the public. Some times even media tells the public what they want. There are many documentaries telling stories about innocent people being wrongfully convicted and one thing is the same every time. When the truth is revealed prestige stands in the way with help of bureaucracy making it hard to exculpate wrongfully convicted.
It is not up to me to say what is correct, right and truthful in this show. I'm not American. The legal system in my country is far from perfect. There are some things that are similar but some are not. Never the less it gets me thinking. That is good. People should think. Is this how it is, should be or must be? Next step is to decide to do or not do some thing about it.
Good show, better than many similar ones. There are most likely other views in these cases not represented in this show but let it be a conversation starter and see if it can have a positive impact in the future.
Run Fatboy Run (2007)
The best feel-good movies i know.
I have seen this 20+ times and it is still a 10 in my book of feel-good movies. Pegg, Black and Schwimmer did it and should do it again. A good movie is a movie that give you some thing to go when it ends. One of the best actor turning director debut. Not a Friend's fan so did not expect much from this. Totally surprised. Some times I laugh at the characters, like when Pegg and Moran fight on their way out from the crocked piano dealers. Most of the time one laugh at the things that hit close to home. The recognition is spotted here and there. It is not a deep movie with extraordinary acting performances. It is in the more plain depiction side of the art where we find ordinary characters being ordinary end experiencing extraordinary ordinary circumstances. It feels effortless but it is the key to its magic. It pulls the audience in instead of just exposing its content to them. There is no threshold between the story and reality. For one and a half hour the audience and the characters story is the same.
Charlie's Angels (2019)
No ones favourite but not a bad movie.
Many who do not like the movie. I'm not saying they're wrong. Maybe I'm just right when I say that the movie is a little better than just OK.
There are some of the genre's obvious clichés but it has enough freshness to be worth a look.
The film works but with a reservation. Sir Patrick Stewart. I really like him but not as an on screen actor. He is a wonderful person and storyteller on a theater scene, as a guest in a talk show and social.
Otherwise, I think the actors deliver but it is not at the highest level. There is probably no room for an actor in a movie of this type to delve into the character and what would the point be?
Two hours of OK action that is a little fun without any major revelatory elements. The smaller ones, however, make me follow the story somewhat pleasantly from beginning to end.
Once Upon a Time in... Hollywood (2019)
Movie magic without a bunny in the hat.
A good movie is not the same as a well made one. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is a good example of a well-made production, but it is not enough. There is nothing to object to the production, the actors etc. What separates Once Upon a Time in Hollywood from a good movie is what you bring from the movie. Previous Tarantino films have in most cases shown the filmmaker's talent in just leaving a lasting imprint. How he has managed to create 2.5 hours of cinematic brilliance without any significant amount of content is puzzling. It may be a talent or the movie is a failure.
I had to see it again. Maybe I had a mini stroke the first time I saw it because the emptiness after the movie might indicate that I may have had a mini stroke or something similar. So I spent about 5 hours and 20 minutes trying to find the greatness of the film. Nothing. The film is like a fireplace video.
It feels sad to give such a well-played and well-made movie so few stars but if I'm honest, 3 out of 10 still feel generous in this case.
Big names and hype will probably entice many viewers to waste several hours of their lives watching this movie. A small number of fans will be lyrical, but I think most will leave the movie theater with a void in their life history that will be difficult to explain even if quantum physics is used.
Starhunter ReduX (2017)
Double aim, no hit!
Horrible soap opera with less than mediocre actor efforts and on the verge of sheepish script. I'm not happy to use such negative terms in a review. Conscious of how many have worked hard to create this series, it is not my intention to hurt them personally. That doesn't mean you have to wrap up the truth about how bad the series is in cotton candy.
The only good thing about this show is the inside of the spaceship. Well built and fully in line with grunge sci-fi. Costumes and attributes are in class with many classic space shows.
What is bad? Personally, I do not like the soap opera's over-theatrical unengaged expression. Fantasy is one of the mainstays of sci-fi, which the show lacks in all aspects. Creativity ends up in freezing degrees. Lighting strives for sci-fi drama but lands in visual tragedy. The music theme and the background music are synth-flat, boring and as copied from ... surprise ... soap opera.
I don't believe that a show would be bad just because it was a cross between soap and sci-fi. Both genres have a lot in common. However, it falls flat unless one genre respects the other. Soap and sci-fi often lack qualities forgiven by the fans, but it doesn't work to allow the sum of these in a crossover production. The sum of their actual qualities is the yardstick fans in both camps will measure the show by.
Bad special effects are nothing that sci-fi fans have any problems with really. Countless are cult-declared space shows where you almost saw the fishing line from which rockets built by toilet rolls hovered. Unfortunately, lack of technology becomes yet another embarrassment for this show in this plethora of embarrassments.
The Orville (2017)
Surpisingly excellent!
Not a fan of MacFarlane, Star Trek Original, Next Generation or Voyager but the mix of Mr MacFarlane and these classic series came out knocking the socks of many TV Sci-Fi. The short stories are like laundry hanging to dry. They are simple towels, nice shirts, knickers and jumpers etc that creates a grate mix but still held high by the same line. The drama is not of deepest kind but still one can relate to what Mr MacFarlane makes the characters experience. The stories are clever and Sci-Fi lovers will find similarities to older Sci-Fi shows but with some what more thought through twists. The crew is in the center and the little bit held back action mixes nicely in to the narrative. MacFarlane's humor is maybe a little bit softer than his other work and even though I'm no fan of hard core slap stick entertainment I find my self missing bits of it. There are many scenes where he could take it just a wee bit further without making it a mockery of the genre.
I'm often wrong. This is a production I had no high hopes for before it's release but me being wrong made me once again happy.
I hope this good show will live long and prosper. Let there be no long lived antagonist that endlessly bore us with senseless evil doings. Give us colorful laundry along the story line in jummy mouthful pieces to enjoy and to look forward to for many more seasons.
Peter Rabbit (2018)
To good for the story.
This is from a grown up point of view!
Excellent movie, but...
... the story is a carbon copy of any "family-feel-good" genre story.
Don't get me wrong. This movie is well spent time with your kids and when it ends there is a little smile on every ones lips. It is cute, fluffy and humorous and the story is well told even if it is about as boring as it gets.
What Happened to Monday (2017)
2 in 1 = 5
This movie I have to judge as if it was two movies in one. One that gains 10 stars out of ten and another that only gets one. Why?
The good part of this movie is the idea, Noomi and the technical execution. The bad part is the unfitting depiction of the society and its problems.
The "one child" theme is oversizes in the backdrop of the movie. Unrealistic and sloppy depiction of a society that have been facing child birth restriction for more than 30 years. It should be more subtle reality, not so "in your face" as the makers made it. The ugly van for example takes me back to futuristic depictions from the 80's. I feel sorry for Glen Close, a totally unrealistic political villain with amateurish lines. The "villains lair" and its props are once again a trip back to the 80's futuristic cliché or a Austin Powers movie. Based on this I would give only one star out of ten but I don't.
The good part is the other story. The siblings, their ordeals and how they cope with a for sure unrealistic'ish situation but still interesting. It opens up a intrigue that frames the real good action parts. Noomi Rapace is given an exiting role (or actually seven roles) to interpreter and this is what makes this movie worth the effort to watch. It feels effortless and simple, easy bought, which makes it believable but that is an illusion. Noomi's acting skills and likely the directors focus on her roles and their parts in the story is brilliant. It could be a problem for the audience to separate the siblings, all played by same actor, but not in this movie. Watching this movie it IS seven different persons in action. Not over played and not to much based on props etc. Noomi works hard and does it right. The acting of the other actors becomes unimportant except for Close's poor performance/direction/script. Willem Dafoe delivers but on the other hand, not the most advanced part. Marwan Kenzari is a side-side kick so expectations not that high and his acting works though it is some times fumble except in the action scenes.
Taking away all the scenes where "one child" theme is over represented and sketchy depicted the movie would be much better. If the director had put some creative elbow grease in to the visualization of the world the siblings lived in the movie would have been a masterpiece. The action and the story about the siblings got all the gas while the story's biotope got only fumes.
I hope some one in the future picks up on this original story - its possibilities - and produce a remake where the whole story spectra is granted the same craftsmanship in its making that this movie only got parts of.
I award this movie five stars out of ten but I still recommend it. What Happened to Monday
has qualities beyond good, making it worth the watch and definitely if fan of the genre. Give it a try and feel free to dislike the bad parts, forget them quickly and enjoy the good golden bits.
Game of Thrones (2011)
Started out well but...
It is an amazing show in many perspectives and I can see why people loves it. I did to. The show started awesome but a bit into the second season pace began to fade. In season three, it was obvious: Inspiration for Daenerys Targaryen must come from Moses' 40-year wandering in the desert home to Israel from Egypt. I have completely lost interest in the series, although I'm impressed by the production and all the actor's efforts. The series has produced many exciting characters and let viewers get acquainted with many new promising actors / actresses. Veteran actors has popped up to the surface again and proved their greatness. Game of Thrones has lots of qualities and the series has in many areas outperformed everything else that has been shown on television before ... but ... the lethargic pace sucks the will to live out of me. Sure, things happen... people are dying and the new "wild cards" are thrown into the game. The problem is that it does not feel as if it matters. I'm not against the drama part but it feels like the awesome entertainment is suffering from drama being to stretched out and not leading anywhere. The series has not reached its end yet so my review is not engraved in granite but I no longer following series after the 4th season. Likely I'm going to see the rest when the entire series available on iTunes or similar. I rate it 5 stars because it at this point bores me. Who knows? Maybe I will restore the 10 I gave the show after season one after I seen the last episode?
Last Knights (2015)
Like a really good whiskey diluted with half water.
Good actors and they did deliver. Good camera work and OK action scenes. Director has done a good job with what he had to work with. Unfortunately the whole story was thin. If filmmakers can take a comic book issue and make a good movie based on the story, I wonder, was this script written on the inside of a matchbook? The story begins and ends but that's basically it. It's boring, slow and unimaginative. It does not hurt to watch the movie, it's a pretty beautiful illustration but it leaves no lasting aftertaste. Do not pass this movie if you like the genre but save it for a bad weather day. Feels awkward to say that I give this movie 4 because it was well made so I rather put it that this movie lost 6 stars because it was boring.
American Sniper (2014)
A hero is not a hero because he say he is.
It is my respect for the quality craftsmanship that is put in to this movie that makes me rate this movie high as 2/10. The purpose of this movie and the lies it is built up on makes it dangerous in the making of our history. This movie will be there forever telling lies by a man about him and about a war. What the war was about and why American soldiers died on foreign land and why American soldiers killed people in another country. This is nothing else than propaganda showing it's ugly face and I'm so sorry that Clint Eastwood is the director. There are so many stories true to the American nation, it's values and it's youth that sacrificed their lives for it. The true testimonies and stories takes away the need of this story and this movie. The need of this move did never exist. Now this movie is made and we will all have to accept its role as a part of our historical legacy. It will always be known it is built upon lies but also hailed to in expression of patriotism. How sad. All the respect I had for Mr Eastwood is gone. It saddens me that this movie profoundly redefines Mr Eastwood in my point of view. A movie should not need to be rated like this. A movie should be rated for its story, the artistry, the craftsmanship and its visualizations of its makers. But when a movie crosses the line from being a pure work of art to become a tool for other interests... it is the other interests that will be judged. 2 out of 10 only because of respect for the artists.