DaegT Reviews

Knights of the Zodiac (2023)

Surprisingly good without any previous expectation

[8/10 · 4 April 2024]

I found this movie on Netflix accidentally and after scanning it for the first 3 minutes (which I always do), I decided to greenlight it n give a go. I knew nothing about the original manga, and I had not watched any trailer before. Hence it was a fresh start and I solely wanted to focus on how ENTERTAINING it could be. Wow, turned out I binge watched it till the end.

First let me say something about the action. It's a typical American style action sci-fi. So car chasing, gun fighting, advanced aircraft's, super powers.... They r all there. The crew has now missed anything I expected.

The cast. Great to have an Asian face (from One Piece, that's a bonus) as the main character. He has done his role well. One reviewer complained he closed his eyes too much. No! That's pretty normal. I always did that when I did fencing long ago. Need'a focus before a critical strike!

Plot. As an action movie u can't expect much. Hurt by baddies, escaped, did the training, defeated the baddies, kept finding the missing sis, more baddies would come (in the sequel). Simple as that. Not a conspiracy story after all.

Visual effects are very typical and successful. Maybe u can draw parallel to a gaming walkthrough but that could be very positive. People just love gaming walkthroughs!! As long as it's entertaining then I don't see any problem in it.

Lastly, acting is a pass. I personally won't put it in the first place. It's an ACTION movie. Their role is to deliver the actions and adrenaline to audiences. A super pretty face (like in many Korean movies) it shapely body (like many Hollywood movies) could unnecessarily spoil the whole movie.

So as in independent reviewer I gave this movie 8 stars. It has done well as an action movie.

P. S. I only knew it's an adaptation AFTER I had finished watching the whole movie.

Battle for Sevastopol (2015)

Almost perfect!

[9/10 · 18 January 2024]

It's IMDB here, so politics and ideology are not my concern. Neither is political propaganda, if any.

I watched this movie as a frictional movie. First things first, I focused on the plot and any significant plot holes to be found. Well honestly I don't see any flaw in it. The only split hairs might be the duo fight between her and the Nazis sniper. I really squeezed my eyebrows after she made the shot. That's surreal! OMG I thought they made it up. It could have been better as well as more heroic. Besides, Polina Gagarina's song (Kukushka??) should have been placed at a different moment in the movie.

I love the way they depict the evacuation of Savastopol. The production team avoided the common mistake of making it like an action movie. Rather, wow, it has depth and it's touching.

Lastly, her final speech really hits the nail on the head. It's one of the most decisive phrase that I have ever heard in a movie. Well done!

My 5 cents: Do NOT hate people of any background, and then u will truly enjoy this movie.

[REC] 3: Genesis (2012)

Seriously wrong with positioning

[3/10 · 8 January 2024]

I m a fan of the Rec franchaise. Recently I re-watched the whole series again. So, frankly speaking, Rec 3 is still as disappointing as 10 years ago.

What's seriously wrong is not the concepts involved. Say, one may argue that "hey! A priest' say-a-prayer is totally irreverent to zombie virus!" Well in Rec 3, I actually quite buy that concept. Z-virus PLUS a dark soul are essential elements to a functioning zombie. No problem! I subscribe to that. Pseudo science anyway.

But I did expect a Die Hard's Bruce Willis to save the damsel-in-distress, rather than a clumsy medieval knight swaying kinda long sword and a shield etc. Or find a Victorinox Swiss Army Knife and create something makeshift wisely!!! Seriously! Please don't change this sequel into a comedy! It's almost like another comedy zom movie (something called.....Boy Scout Apocalyse ???)

Another gigantic plot hole is also very, very obvious. None of the guest know how call the cops??? Put yourself in their shoes, would u use your iPhone to video record everything just like everyone else would do so nowadays? Maybe u even might live stream everything on social media!!! There is NO WAY that cops n special forces would arrive later than 30 minutes. I mean in Rec 3's scenario, things would have been settled in 30 minutes.

The production team definitely should have written a better plot.

The Creator (2023)

Hegemony once again

[7/10 · 1 October 2023]

This is probably the most controversial movie I have watched in a decade. New Asia linked with AI, this combination already means HATE to many people. I am politically neutral but i do dislike hegemony. So bombing any country on Earth with the switch of a button at someone's will subjectly means a bad bad thing to me. And what's more, coloured peoples have been involved. So at the very beginning this movie is deemed to be an offence to many audiences to-be.

Fine. Shake it off the politics. Why the main character has such a motive to take part in the mission? It has not been explained in details. This part is actually quite thin, as i suppose he should just miss her after the event. Moreover, why he has such a passion towards the kid? It's not that reasonable at all.

Apart from the plot issues, i wanna show my thumb up to the cinematography of the movie. Many places are so picturesque. At least, the Asian places are not that stereotypically obsolete, dirty and absurd anymore. That impressed me quite a bit.

This movie will surely give people a lot of talking point especially if they have opinions on AI nowadays. The pace just average and surely it will not sweat your hands or pump up your adrenaline. Not bad for amusement on a weekend.

Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)

Piece of SFX junk

[2/10 · 15 August 2023]

The first hour was great, I enjoyed that first hour. The second hour was just mediocre ans yet it was considered a necessary of the movie, even though I would just cut it 30 minutes shorter. The third hour, oh gosh, I have forgotten how many time I cursed in that third hour. It was totally unnecessary. You won the sea battle, sank the ship, and the story should pretty much be done, right? And if you wanna make a cliffhanger for a sequel, do so after the second hour!!!

I expected a well-planned military action from both side. Turned out i was so disappointed. Everything just happened out of the blue ( i don't mean the movie's theme colour here).

I wish I could take that third hour back. I have wasted an hour in my life for nothing necessary. I definitely do NOT wanna watch this franchise again!

Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead (2023)

A mediocre adaptation that i'll forget overnight

[5/10 · 9 August 2023]

I am 100% certain that this movie is a plain and loyal adaption from a Japanese anime. With respect, there could be no one on Earth, other than the Japanese, that could have such a culture and write such a story. Consider it as a compliment, guys. Everything is so original and yet so foreign. So here is my 5 cents: If someone is not into Japanese culture, then that a movie could be skipped for sure. Otherwise give it a greenlight as it is really exotic.

Nothing makes sense in the movie. I know zoms don't make any good sense neither. But if you compare it with other zom movies or series like Army of the Dead, La Revolution or Kingdom on Netflix, then your can easily see that the whole plot fell flat from most aspects. What is worse, the acting really forced me to roll my eyes up. Many times i squeezed my eyebrows and asked myself: What'a hell is that??? The dialogues are so cliche that I really wonder if the Japanese would say that in real life? Really, talk about philosophy in a fierce argument? I switched to Eng dub coz I really can't tolerate their dialogue tone. The Japanese dub has such an exaggerated tone!

I gave it 5 stars coz it is so original and so different from the other zom movies. It's fun to watch. Its very exotic. However, to be honest it's no way a superb contender in the zombie genre.

Paradise (I) (2023)

First half is worth 9 stars. Second half seriously wrong.

[1/10 · 8 August 2023]

If not second half of the movie, which jeopardised everything, this movie would have been an iconic masterpiece from the recent Germany film industry. HOWEVER, the second half is totally nonsense. In German: unsinn!!!!!!!

The first half did successfully capture my attention and made me binge-watching on sofa for an hour. My heart really pumped faster and my hands sweated. I thought, wow, there was eventually a German sci-fi thriller that had a potential. Yes, even though it was not a very original one, as i told myself that the movie probably had borrowed certain idea from another movie, (namely In Time). The story was initially tense and dramatic.

But then the kidnapping part started and so did the total nonsense start! The plot has damn lots of absurd plot holes that I probably need another 1000 words to describe. But what makes me very angry and frustrated even now is the moral of the story. No matter what, an innocent girl is an innocent girl! And she is 100% a victim. And a kidnapper is 100% a criminal. Such a perpetrator can never be downplayed, not to mentioned unpunished and never apprehended. And that doctor, she is an abetter as well. And so the ending really pissed me off. I havent watched such a poor ending in decade! Wow that s a record. Impressive.

So, regarding the ending, which I tried my best not to create any spoiler, is as dark as Black Mirror. This movie could be an episode in Black Mirror indeed!

A kidnapper, an abetter, a victim girl. The plot writer is seriously wrong morally. If it was a French or Turkish movie, the result would have been totally different. They have more justice in their plots.

Wow, the German crew have failed me one more time. Conclusion, good cast and acting (which were actually quite good), but extremely poor plot, moral standard and ideology.

Biohazard: Death Island (2023)

Why am I not surprised!

[6/10 · 31 July 2023]

Simply put, everything has been way too familiar to me as an RE fan. As a decade-old and die-hard fan it is essentially a movie that shouldn't to be missed. You would create an unnecessary missing link if you have watched all the RE series on Netflix.

But then it doesn't mean that i am happy with the Death Island. It's way too familiar to fans like me. The producing crew must be a daredevil! How dare they keep Jill's outfit unchanged from the RE3 REmake game! Seriously? Don't even bother to change the colours or something? And the clicking sound of a tactical flashlight is the foolishest mistake I have ever come to. Gosh she would be dead if she pressed the end-cap button, I mean it.

I hate the scene when they lined up to shoot the BOW/monster. It like a bunch of kids shooting turkeys in a carnival. So lame so obsurd.

And they have wasted a very potential character: Maria. I thought her debut could be iconic. Damn I was painfully wrong.

My 5 cents: do NOT watch it if you are not a fan of RE. It is just too superficial and plain in everything.

Viking Wolf (2022)

Entertaining ok yet nothing special

[5/10 · 4 February 2023]

If u were a werewolf fan, I honestly tell u that it's a far cry from the Underworld franchise with Kate Beckinsale (Selene) nor Teen Wolf with O'Brien. Its Nordic style gave me an exotic impression, which was the only thing that kept me on my seat.

It has severely limited SFX, and a fairy thin n straight forward plot. Each character is not fully developed and none of their role is compelling. For the whole movie time I totally didn't understand why Liv gotta work almost alone as a police officer. I couldn't feel any love in the movie, regardless the family one not the fancy one. The university lecturer/ vet seemed more like a junior lab tech. Expert, seriously? The director should have chosen a more seriously-looking actor (e.g. Imagine Tom Cruise). And then the old man werewolf hunter looked like an amateur. Get someone looks like Sean Connery please! And how boredom was his advices!!!! Just silver bullets n habitats. Any movie fan can tell her more! Twist? None at all. Ending? What a vague ending. I surmise the director also got fell flat and didn't wanna have a sequel. Thus forget about any cliffhanger.

Lastly but not the least, the werewolf looked plastic to me. It's fake, lame, absurd, and def not a scary one.

After all it's Ok as an entertainment, B-class, for 1-1/2 hr. Don't expect anything else.

Yakamoz S-245 (2022)

Almost as good as Into the Night

[9/10 · 17 January 2023]

Firstly, I agree with another reviewer that the so-called scientists in the story are very, very annoying and this I have to deduce one star because of them. I was like on tenterhooks to watch their naive behaviours that could possibly jeopardise everything on the sub.

Compared with Into the Night, Yakamoz is relatively slow-burning. I mean, u have a sub that can protect you everyday. The only crisis that comes to my mind is the supplies. Food supply, fuel, etc. U can literally stay underwater for a week without worrying the fatal gamma ray from the sun flares! That's easy going. On the contrary, Into the Night has a much faster pace in every episode, coz u might have already known, that u have to keep the plane flying daily and outrun the sun without a second thought. Zero tolerance in postponing your agenda.

Back to the Yakamoz, I definitely think Umuz has done his every job right. He has plans and he follows orders n protocols. That's what I call a "soldier". The civilians are so much spoiled that they seem to do whatever they like. In the last episode, the second-commander really disappointed me. I would question that part of the plot, coz after going through all these, the crew should trust each other much. Their solidarity should be second to none, correct?? They have been trained for all these and they should be up to all these challenges. It's not reasonable n logical if any of them has anything cozy with the civilians. I mean, would u? Just doesn't make sense.

Evil within, I m a bit relieved to see his ending. Serves him right.

The Invitation (II) (2022)

Freshness to classic vampire subgenre

[8/10 · 15 January 2023]

Yes very obviously it's a female lead movie by "woke" Netfix but that doesn't make the movie any less intriguing. May I remind all the haters here that we are all people are coloured, just some people more and some people less. If the movie producers wanna think out of the box make a breakthrough version of Dracula's Brides then this story has hit the nail on the head.

The acting of the all characters are impressively natural and appealing. And it's no brainier to understand the characters and the plot with flying colours. As a woke vampire movie please don't expect too much gore and fast-pace Hollywood style actions. I think the pace is just alright. If your are fond of story-telling type of movies then this is your cup of tea. Yes, tea. Not coffee. It's Brit.

If I m a real picky guy then I would say the ending is a bit disappointing to me. I do expect a more dramatic and adrenaline-pumping ending. And I would be impressed if Dracula can show me more of his evilness. Audiences like us should have known a lot of facts and misunderstanding about that Son of Dragon and I did expect more of him. Think out of the box, as I always expect from the modern classics.

I would recommend it to all vampire lovers. And once again, getting a talent actress with a darker tan to be the leading character just ROCKS.

Centigrade (2020)

True story? Looks jmpossible

[4/10 · 20 December 2022]

I have no idea what the real story is about. I played the movie as a backdrop during my boring work earlier today. I thought it's just another mediocre trapped-n-survival low budget movie. Bingo I was right, just that the story was full of stupidity and nonsenses. For instance: the cellphone, guys, u gotta be kidding me. Bummer I think I was the one instead who really needed struggling. Truly, in that hour of boredom I hope to get to the ending ASAP. To my disappointment, the ending revealed that they were not really trapped in a dead-or-alive situation! Damn! The product team should have made the situation worse. At least they should have been trapped much much much deeper in the snow. Now I m really frustrated as it's just a no-brainier situation.

I would not recommend anyone to watch this movie at all. I give it a few stars just because it's based on a true story and I don't wanna insult the survivors.

Troll (2022)

Frustrated by the story

[5/10 · 11 December 2022]

I thought I would get an entertaining 1.5 hours (roughly) and hopefully be enlighten more about the legend of troll. Turned out I m very frustrated and upset by the story. The troll is a total victim of our humanity. We should be shameful in the plot but no, the production team tryna make it heroic.

Seriously heroic? We murdered the troll's bloodline in the past, now wake up the last one by bombing his home, then blame him for whatever something (I don't even know what should we accuse him of), then shoot him with guns n cannons, then taunt him with a baby troll's skull, then set up a trap for him, burn him and let him eventually die in the sun. Oh c'mon I don't see anything righteous here. The female protagonist shed a tear at the end of movie. That's crocodile's tear.

I give it 5 stars for the CG and cinomography only. For the plot, I wanna give it a -10.

MINUS ten!!!!!!!

Interceptor (2022)

Everything is alright except THOR

[9/10 · 17 October 2022]

As a Die-Hard style no-brainer fast-paced action movie, this one has almost everything well-balanced. An appealing protagonist, a relatively smart-n-mad antagonist, hateful baddies, supermassive plot holes etc. Yes, the whole movie is already a gigantic plot hole. Yet the fun of this type of movie is to pump a bit of adrenaline to our cerebellum n turn us on. With regards to these factors factors, this movie is a huge success. I think people who don't like it are being too serious here. It's not a detective story!

However, something I m really not into it. It's a bystander called Thor (u know whom I m alluring to). If He is not to save the world this time, then it's not a must for him to be here. It's not even a favourable face. Please there must be some other ways of creating humour briefly during that tense n immersive 1.5hrs. An extra grain of salt can really spoil the soup ;)

Fall (I) (2022)

Enjoyed with my sweaty hands

[10/10 · 22 September 2022]

I m serious. For most of the time when I watched this movie, my hands were sweaty. Of course I m acrophobia badly in this way, but this movie is indeed an adrenaline-pumping one. The director thus has made a very iconic and successful climbing thriller movie ever. Besides, I also like the plot writing, which is warm and encouraging.

The only thing that gets on my nerves is the twist. Really, the movie would be much more encouraging if both girls survived and become even better friends. I mean, I prefer a happier ending.

The sound effect of the chilling wind is quite frightening. And the 2 vultures is a super smart idea to speed up my heartbeat. I love this combination.

Oh, BTW one thing is missing. The rescue moment when the girl shouts with energetic background music!!! How could the director missed it!!!! To me, that's a tiny flaw.

I would recommend this movie to everyone, no matter your are afraid of height or what. It's a well-balanced and brilliant one which is not "a remake of a remake of a remake". Give it a shot!

Day Shift (2022)

Pack of actions without anything deep

[4/10 · 13 August 2022]

If u simply need an action comedy movie for adrenaline pumping n cerebellum stimulation, granted it's a good choice. But if u r think when u watch any movie or if u r looking for something different, then I m pretty sure to tell u: it's none. Nothing original n nothing surprising! Big supermassive plot hole after the first hour. Really, when a movie tries to go super heroic, it becomes super silly. In 2022 it looks more like a 90's action/martial comedy.

I mean, the cast have no problem, but the plot, guys, don't u think it's obsolete. The last 30 minutes is totally nonsense n I really rolled my eyes. Gosh!

Valley of the Dead (2020)

It's predictable

[5/10 · 8 August 2022]

Apart from the backdrop of the Spanish civil war, which drew my attention a little bit, the movie was so predictable in every aspect. Honestly I broke the movie into 2 halves to watch (yeah give me a break!). It's boring for me. I finished it just because I wanted to see something different at the end of the movie. But no, it's just mediocre.

Don't expect it to be another REC.

Prey (I) (2022)

Beautiful! As far as u can go, that's it.

[8/10 · 5 August 2022]

Deducted from the trailer, we all know it's about a Predator (Yautja) vs indigenous hunters movie in the musketeer era. Musket!!! Which is to say, it's around 16xx to early 17xx A. D. So in the very first place I wondered it would be a very unfair fight between them. Any weapon fan can tell u the slow reloading speed and poor penetration n range of a musket. Frankly speaking, after watching the movie I m sure to tell that none of the characters is literally comparable to the Yautja. So the fun lies 100% in the plot. Namely:

How possibly could a stone-age indigenous girl defeat a Yautja?

Yes, DEFEAT! The franchise is never solely about survival. Predator fans know pretty well that the premise n mainstay of the franchise are "to kill the Yautja" in an unfair way. Speaking of "unfair", one thing I need'a point out here: I m ok for Yautja to use stealth mode (as camo) in hunting, but stealth mode in combat? That totally coward. When u can't get an upper hand during a hand-to-hand fight, would u change to stealth mode? That super duper COWARD. I never thought a predator could be chicken-out like that.

Nevertheless I still found the trick of the final "boss-fighting" persuasive. It was incisive and adrenaline-pumping. In fact I was happy to see the movie producers NOT reuse the same old tricks from the past. They really did think out of the box. Amazing!

As a Disney+ movie I would say it's better than expected. It's a must-watch for all die-hard Predator fans.

Resident Evil (2022)

Only if u can think out of the box

[9/10 · 17 July 2022]

This series isn't for everyone, indeed. Attention! 1) people fed up with FPS games, 2) gen grown up with ResEvil video games, 3) fans of Walking Dead franchise, and 4) fans of Milla Jojovich version of ResEvil. Do NOT go for it! It's def not your cup of coffee.

It's not made by Capcom. Obviously. It's Constantin. So expect something Brit/Euro-style. If u r Europhoria then u can tell the differences between Walking Dead and 28 Days/Weeks Later. That's exactly the simile I wanna say, which implies that the negative comments are a matter of taste rather than the production quality. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

As a global movie lover I always wanna see something different. I still wanna discover new formulas in the zombie subgenre. I still love to be jolted by new prequels and sequels of ResEvil rather than watching an infinite looping of remakes. Based on this premise, New Racoon City has unveiled a new chapter of the franchise.

P. S. One last thing. Woke mind in a movie is nothing bad at all, even though subjectively I won't say New Racoon City has much. A person with any skin tone could be a dignitary, courageous and intellectual.

The Princess (I) (2022)

Like a video game

[7/10 · 1 July 2022]

Currently I m playing a stealth video game (with rats, lot of rats) the second time which is against a backdrop of Middle Age France. So when I watched this movie I could find a lot of similarities between them. A princess hunted by soldiers within a castle. But this time it a bit different. It's kinda too-down in a tower.

Since I found this movie by surprise, I really had zero expectation for it. But then, I was totally caught by surprise. It's totally entertaining. Then another surprise: I found some familiar faces, namely Veronica Ngo and Olga Kurylenko. Mm, how I miss them both.

I would say it's definitely a good choice for a night of chilling martial action. Wow, girls can be badass if they got hot blood.

Tomb Raider (2018)

Vikander simply isn't Lara Croft

[6/10 · 18 June 2022]

As a loyal die-hard fan of the franchise, I had of course read the comic book before I watched the movie. I watched many gaming walkthrough as well. So I m pretty sure Vikander is not a good portrait of Lara Croft. Vikander did her best in the role (i surmise she must had bruises all over her body), so I won't give any more harsh comment on that.

The movie dragged me a bit, gotta admit that. This action movie is surprisingly slow-pacing. As a fan I have bought the movie. Yet, really I haven't watched it for the second time. All in all this is just a mediocre movie that jumped onto a bandwagon called Tomb Raider.

Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

Perfect in all aspects

[10/10 · 12 June 2022]

Be fair, I have no reason to deduce any single star out of the 10. So it's 10 outta 10.

I think the only minor plot hole is fighter they stole from the air base. That's more crazily ridiculous than having Top Gun 3. But anyway, I still buy it as an action movie.

Captain Marvel (2019)

Marvel + Star Wars equals emptiness

[4/10 · 11 June 2022]

A hollow movie with a marvellous shell. It certainly has the budget of a mega movie but I can see the soul of a cheesy B-movie! Brie Larson doesn't look alien, and she def not look like a worrier, not even by a long shot! Her fighting scenes are not compelling at all. More like a college girl with super power. Better to call her Miss Marvel :)

Maybe the production crew meant good to be loyal to the original comic, or they wanna pay tribute to Stan Lee. But pls FGS, choose someone more tactical like Sarah Connor, ok? The most powerful Marvel character looks like a college girl in costume.

Beautiful scenes, beautiful Brie Larson and stunning CG FSX. Yet I can skip anytime to any part of the movie without feeling lost. It is that hollow.

I watched it simply because it's free on Disney+.

Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City (2021)

Failed to think out of the box

[7/10 · 9 June 2022]

As a loyal fan of the franchise, without further ado, I gotta say this movie is very, very loyal to RE 2 remake, and quite loyal to RE 1 remake as well. Kaya Scodelario is a very nice portrait of Claire Redfield. A good decision to have chosen her.

I believe that the movie was made in good faith, but the praise has to be ended here. Pity.

Fans must have watch dozens of gaming walkthrough and yes, this movie looks pretty much just like another one. And so? It dragged me a lot. Familiar story familiar scenes. Can they really think out of the box a bit? There are surely many missing links n plot holes in RE 1 and 2, and why bother to make something supplementary rather than just copy n past the gaming plots!!

Lastly, I gotta say, Jill Valentine is sooooo unnatural in the movie. She doesn't look that tactical as Jill supposed to be.

Terminator Genisys (2015)

Emilia Clarke doesn't fit to be Sarah Connor

[3/10 · 29 May 2022]

I like Emilia Clarke but she is in no way appropriate to be young Sarah Connor. Not tough not tactical not persevere enough. She looks like a teen neighbour in tactics costume rather than a compelling elite soldier!

And is that the movie produced when James Cameron has not been involved? Totally deviated timeline!!! U can't just write a new plot like a loose cannon! Are u just gonna write any plot arbitrarily and then tell the audiences "hey, simply because the future has been altered, now it becomes .....". Stay the course please!!!!!!

This movie has almost zero linkage to the previous chapters. So u can just skip it. No harm no foul.