incurableobsession Reviews

Narratage (2017)

Slow moving romance that doesn't venture from the typical of Japanese movies.

[6/10 · 9 October 2017]

Narratage was a slow moving movie with some gut-wrenching parts but overall suffers from pacing and sometimes confusing time jumps. The ending is frustrating to anyone who wanted a real conclusion and I found myself wondering why I went to this movie at all because of that.

MatsuJun plays a wishy washy teacher who has issues that aren't completely addressed and in fact you want to want to punch him for his inaction and passiveness. But then again the main character, Izumi, is just as wishy washy as her Sensei. Overall, it's an interesting premise, a somewhat ambiguous conclusion but the characters themselves were lacking in some fundamental way that would make me sympathize with any of them. Instead I found myself sighing at their antics. Or maybe I'm just desensitized to love stories like this. I believe they were going for a slice of life, painful first love sort of thing, but I just rolled my eyes most of the time. But I guess if that's your thing, don't let me stop you from watching this. It has all the cliché love parts that would probably have a more romantically inclined person's heart beating but did nothing to melt the ice cold that mine is made of.

As a side note for those just watching for MatsuJun, he isn't in this as much as I was lead to believe, from the trailers and instead this is being lead mostly by Kasumi and Kentaro.

Tokyo Ghoul (2017)

As far as adaptations go, pretty good. Better than AoT at least.

[7/10 · 29 July 2017]

Tokyo Ghoul live action movie is...good. I mean, as far as adaptations go. The movie doesn't skimp out on the blood and guts and for the more queasy, you might not want visit the concession stand or risk losing your popcorn. Easy to follow but suffers like many adaptations with the too much to explain with too little time syndrome. The pacing also had its ups and downs but mostly because of the intensity of some of its key scenes that make the quieter moments quieter. Great acting all around, especially from its mains. Both Kubota and Shimizu play their parts well and, though I can already hear the overacting complaints from others despite Kubota really making a perfect Kaneki with the switches between calm and paranoia. Despite not being the best CGI in the business, it never took me out of the story. I was almost always invested and I can't believe I'm saying this but...I want a second one.

Spectre (I) (2015)

At least better than Solace?

[6/10 · 31 January 2016]

Coming off the high that was Skyfall, a lot of people were expecting a lot out of this movie. And did it deliver?

....not really, no. In fact, I'd venture to say that it's probably only a bit better than Solace and definitely not up to calibre with Skyfall's success. The most serious flaw (a flaw that many movies have tbh) is in it's villain. I admit the introduction leading up to him was interesting but then it just...stagnates. He spends so much time talking about what he's done but never actually does anything. Not to mention the fail that was Andrew Scott. Not as an actor because the way he looks Bond up and down...ahhh that was a beautiful Moriarty look there, but his entire part could have been erased and it probably would have been a better movie. Let's not even talk about the uselessness that was Bautista's character. There was no need for the dramatics of his introduction. In fact, there was so much that could have been cut out and that time used instead to introduce more by way of character depth to the main villain.

It's so sad when so many great actors get together to make what could have been a great movie but had a shoddy script to work with.

The gold in this film lies not with anything Bond does with his Bond girls or M getting down into the trenches or even Andrew Scott's subtle interest in all the men in this movie, but in the Bond/Q relationship. Shipping aside, their chemistry is absolutely wonderful and I wish desperately that they had focused more on that than with their sad excuse for a romance. Each scene with them together was filled with snark and just...so much perfection.

Watch this movie if just want to watch a Bond movie, no matter how bad it is. It's at least better than Solace?

The Shannara Chronicles (2016–2017)

Green around the edges but with a lot of potential to be great.

[7/10 · 28 January 2016]

Terry Brooks was one of the most prolific authors of my childhood, but even I will admit that it's been quite the while since I've read the The Sword of Shannara Trilogy and I'm glad of it. It allows me to watch the TV show with just the vaguest of feelings of how it's going to go instead of screaming at the television how wrong they are comparatively to the books (which I do extensively, i.e Shadowhunters, Divergent, every-young-adult-novel-turned-movie/TV series-ever).

The graphics are cheap, the acting isn't the best, but god as my witness, I LOVE IT. MTV does young adult stuff really well and four episodes in, I'm pretty sure I'm going to be just as attached to this as I am with Teen Wolf.

Let's start off with the negatives. The leading cast of younglings are...kind of green around the edges. I find this especially interesting in relation to Manu because it almost seems as if he's over-acting at times. It doesn't seem to happen when he's in a scene with John Rhys-Davies, so I take it as the younglings aren't quite at his caliber. But, to be honest, I don't quite see this as a red mark. They'll get better with experience. It's always this way with junior shows like this and if you're leaving for that alone, I'd say...please come back I want a second season hahaha.

The story is interesting though, and although there are a few times when I question the cinematographic choices, it is far from a bad looking show. Soundtrack is amazing, especially that opening! Wow. It tickles me to have John Rhys-Davies as an Elf because he's an even more famous Dwarf. So this is what happens to good Dwarfs who cross over the Sea, is it?

Also...is it just me or is there way too much chemistry between the main girl and her uncle???? Because it can't just be me.

I see lots of potential and to be honest, I think that it'll live up to all my expectations in the coming weeks. Can't see this one dying down any time soon (at least I hope...)!

Sherlock: The Abominable Bride (2016) Season 4, Episode 0

surprisingly entertaining, yet frustrating at the same time

[7/10 · 3 January 2016]

I adore this show, but I very much like that it is set in the modern age and--say what you will of the movies--I like to leave Victorian London Sherlock to Robert Downey Jr, thank you very much. There is very little more I can say about this without spoiling the entire thing for you, but instead of being disappointed with this little foray into the past, I was very much pleased with how they worked it all out to connect with the present day story.

Sherlock is the most explored character for the most obvious reason, as the show is literally named after him and the Special gives us a literal front row view of how Sherlock interprets himself and those around him. Not much has changed from the regular series there. John is still his most trusted friend and Moriarty is...well...Moriarty. Very little development happens here for any of them except for one particular character.

Surprisingly--or perhaps unsurprisingly considering he is the co-creator of the show-- Mycroft Holmes's character was uniquely touched on. Many may have missed it, focused as they were on the relationship between John and Sherlock, but Mycroft has been peeling back layers like an onion for us to see all through Series 3. He, not John or Moriarty or Mary, is the character to watch in this. Despite the outwardly antagonistic relationship they seem to have, the Holmes Brothers depend on each other in very unique ways. Not to mention how he relates to others now in contrast to how he was in the beginning of the series.

Can you tell who my favourite character is yet?

The visuals are all there, beautifully crafted and delivered with that Sherlockian perfection that has made it so popular. Though it did have it's moments where I thought it was shaky, it's nowhere near as choppy a storyline as Series 3. I do think that it was unnecessarily patronising in some parts. I understand that he was trying to portray the exact opposite of what actually came across, I'm just very concerned that no one on his team cringed at the way some people were treated.

The mystery itself was hilariously easy to solve and I wondered why it took Sherlock so long. Am I Mycroft now? It seems so. Unlike many others, however, I did enjoy the fan service. Didn't think it was over the top at all. It might annoy others but subtext is kind of my thing so I really can't be subjective about this particular debate so I'll leave that to others.

Overall, I found it enjoyable to watch. Obviously not up to par with the first and second series but not as bad as series 3, mansplaining aside. Seeing it in the cinema helped, with it's little extras at the beginning and end. Though a few people left before the interviews were done and I couldn't help but whisper 'fake fans' to my friend jokingly as half of the cinema cleared out before Mark Gatiss was through talking.