jameskidac Reviews

Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)

All hype over nothing

[6/10 · 17 December 2022]

If you read imdb you would have thought it was another masterpiece. Unfortunately, its far worse than the first film and very preachy and repetitive. The technology is still great and cutting edge but i felt like vomiting when I saw Jake for the nth time trying to be a meathead kamikaze and winning the day. If you have watched the first 15 minutes you watched it all.

The message is also very problematic because it doesnt jive with the cinematic experience. If I want to be extolled the merits of environmentalism this is not the forum for it, its entertainment, not a job interview or some science examination.

Jurassic World Dominion (2022)

What is Tim Apple doing in Jurassic World?

[7/10 · 7 June 2022]

Jokes aside, this was a movie that was really curious for me. The idea was fantastic, trying to find an equilibrium with dinosaurs after the genie is out of the bottle. However, the execution was really choppy, each scene was as unbelievable as the next, and that has to be the fault of Colin the director. It makes me miss the first Jurassic World movie, which I thought was the weakest, but he executed it already well there.

Maybe its time constraint, or stuff, but I appreciate the effort by everyone involved. Its a good ending, but really could have been a blockbuster, and it probably would in the box office, but not a blockbuster that Jurassic 1 and 2 were, or even Fallen Kingdom.

Miss Americana (2020)

Taylor is really mediocre here for once

[5/10 · 6 February 2020]

I have accepted that TS is always bashing guys and making the womanhood her priority, and her music while good does beat every guy over the head with sometimes good reason, but this docuseries not only does that with hints and slights, it also paints her as a messiah and very tragic.

I mean cmon, you are worth hundreds of millions, the Beatles probably got less than half of that and they were a band with multiple members, long periods of success and paved the way for you, you have it tough obviously at the top, but you have gotten unprecedented fame and fortune, there is no guarantee you will get to control every part of your life because the money paid for your music is so big you yourself can't buy it all.

Luckily you have maybe 400 million minimum earned and live less like a victim but more a queen or princess or royalty, or lady duchess. Hope she figures out there is more to life than petty slights and no compromise and blaming others instead of being happy and driven and less of those negative traits.

Terminator: Dark Fate (2019)

A big fiction roller coaster that doesn't pretend to know all the answers!

[8/10 · 31 October 2019]

This show is typically casted, with strong women and killer men. The action was fantastic, watching all of them beat the living crap out of each other. However, the attributes of the strong women are pretty generic in the sense if you have lived in a military camp, you can see every soldier has that trait. For it to only be the women in the poster means either all the guys got preoccupied with cyborgs and forgot basic survival instinct, or their brains melted.

I mean the lead who is supposed to be the next big thing, she is so underwhelming it is sad because we have current lady leaders much stronger than that, and risk their lives and don't look like a deer lost in headlights but the show designated her to be the one so it is. However, that's why the title is fiction and fantasy, which is great fun. In the future when Hollywood figures out how to make real leaders who happen to be female (i.e. Aliens, Lara Croft) it will be even better because right now I honestly think they don't really develop the characters as they did a Sarah Conner, or Ripley, its just so plastic. And the problem is if these plastics are the only hope we have against cyborgs, we are doomed. Most of the time they survive through sheer luck, and movie magic, nothing to do with leadership. But its still fun!

Star Trek: Generations (1994)

It could have been better

[6/10 · 11 October 2019]

The writing of this movie was obvious and ponderous. Given the power Kirk and Picard had at the cusp, they could have made it infinitely better than a hammed fist fight between old men. The danger also hardly warranted concern at all. Just go back to the time before the station was attacked and suddenly its over. Given the great writing for the TNG I wonder why this couldn't have been done the same way...

Amy Schumer: Growing (2019 TV Special)

I feel sad for Amy

[4/10 · 27 September 2019]

Jesus Christ I don't know what happened between her CC roast and the Leather Special. It feels like Amy is currently doing one bomb after another, from movies to specials and then this one. I could barely sit through the trailer and the entire thing brought me to some kind of out of body experience, as if she was doing cringe on purpose when it was supposed to be funny. I have no idea what happened to her, but she needs to fire all her writers, producers and start doing clubs again, and I don't mean party, I mean comedy clubs. This is the last grace I can do for you Amy, it is worth much less than 4 stars trust me, I was initially sceptical about the netflix 1 star rating but this one was equally hard to bear because we know she is better than this. Hope she has a good kid but wow this empowerment stuff has not been kind to her act, even if it is done in good intentions.

Death Note (I) (2017)

I don't know what happened in the director's head

[3/10 · 5 April 2019]

Well maybe I do, he was thinking of making a tribute to final destination, american pie and cabin in the woods when his table got served with a script from some Japanese anime that he couldn't bear to even watch because it made his brain have a booboo. Then came the casting director who thought that everyone except L in the movie had to be ugly because death is never pretty. That was fine, because L is a fine specimen, but then he was given the personality of an emotional pouty child despite apparently being the smartest person in that world. Can't blame him for it but the entire movie was like a Scary Movie made to be melodramatic because the writers felt they had more class than Charlie Sheen, surely they could make a masterpiece out of this. And don't quote me on it but they probably paid 38 million for the rights, 1.8 million for William Dafoe, and had like paper clips and instacams left for the shoot, that's why it looked like there was no production, no talent, no writing, no backstory, no charisma, you can't blame the director who had only 200k left and some scotch tape to put together the show, he even had to pay like $3 out of pocket to enter the amusement park to finish his work. It is probably the greatest way 40 million has been spent in history.

Captain Marvel (2019)

Could have been epic

[5/10 · 20 March 2019]

The point of making a Superhero comic or person is to make them extremely gifted in one way and flawed in another. In Captain Marvel, Carol is given everything, from flight, to super strength, to the ability to breathe in space, and no weaknesses, not a quarrel with her best friend, not any view of the world that is questionable, she is just perfect and anyone who questions any part of her is going to get smashed to bits. That is like the first Superman comic where he had nothing but perfection. It was so boring seeing her destroy everything that was even a bit of a threat because there was absolutely no sense of danger at all after the first hour of the movie. I don't get why they have to do this to a marvel hero, many female characters have flaws and yet they are brave regardless, this one doesn't have a misstep of adversity, she just got all the right thoughts out of the bat, didn't learn from anything, just a version of god except one that cares about silly human things. The movie had a great hour though, that is why it is rated at 5, I thought they are gonna make a believable hero, but I guess she is not allowed to have any flaws or weaknesses, which is pretty pointless, might as well make her destroy Thanos immediately and become supreme leader of the universe while she is at it. Then we can all save money on the End Game.

Interstellar (2014)

A very good movie about space, science and other concepts

[10/10 · 17 March 2019]

The director managed to make the insertion into space and science with high concepts of love, moral values and the social construct of a person. That is pretty fascinating, though none of these values were deeply explored, they were considered when dealing with great events that shape consciousness and that is successful for me already. It would have been easy to feel bogged down and overwhelmed by such concepts if done badly, but the director did well to make these stand out to be considered and hopefully that could mean a higher level of thinking for us in the future. Though such stuff is foolhardy to expect from anyone so that is also indicative of our potential greatness if we could make it happen at least often enough to be elevated in our minds.

The House with a Clock in Its Walls (2018)

It is a good iteration of haunted mansion

[8/10 · 13 November 2018]

I put it at 8 because of the lower ratings, this movie deserved a 7 minimum. Jack Black and Cate did their roles perfectly, and the boy was believable enough. It was hard to imagine everything rolling in the right hole at the end, so that would remove the 8 from most reviewers, but the story was decent, the tension was palpable at times, there was a nice villain and many good points about making friendships.

Venom (2018)

I expected a Hercules from Dwayne Johnson and got almost a GOTG

[9/10 · 22 October 2018]

Lets be honest, I was actually going to see First Man but then I thought you know what its a day off lets see a terrible B movie where Tom Hardy was ridiculed in my local paper as a dud etc. Then when the show came on, I was like woah, this guy is actually not bad. By the end of the movie, I realised no one else could have done it better than Tom, almost like a Pick 199. The contrast in styles are so stark. I used to revere Sam Raimi, now I think its something to do with Sony that makes Spiderman trilogy and this series tick. They have a grown up approach, not some high school bickering schtick. I hope Marvel doesn't take this over, I have had it with the infantilisation of every Marvel film to make it G. Hope Sony bets big next time with a R rated film.

Fahrenheit 11/9 (2018)

Weirdly high ratings

[1/10 · 10 October 2018]

I didn't like the movie very much, it spoke to a specific audience like Rachel Maddow's show but for the rest of us it is really like a different world. It shows in the box office returns, no matter how high Rotten Tomatoes ranked it up to be. The more we want back a David Letterman, the more they shovel in these new shows that try to demonise criticism but no one actually likes to watch. I hope he can make a rational point at some time in some documentary but for now the hysteria made many people more numb about the present than fearful.

Johnny English Strikes Again (2018)

Very funny B+ movie

[8/10 · 10 October 2018]

I don't know how they fired all the PC writers, but these writers had balls of steel, doing all kind of bits and having a good story to back it up. I felt every bit was done extremely well, and funny, and seemed like a throw back to the good ol' days of B+ movies and happy audiences.

Incredibles 2 (2018)

This beast bucks the formulaic trend of the recent Disney movies

[9/10 · 26 June 2018]

Kudos to Brad for making the movie tight like a mission impossible adventure. There is a sense of danger, anticipation and then delivery of that promise, against a very believable villain, and with none of the weird generic formula that plagues recent films like "A Force Awakens" and "Star Trek Discovery" which really gets in the way of telling a good story. I don't know what it is, but those aforementioned films feel the same and I can't tell them apart and always feel like I watched an alternate universe rerun of the same thing. I truly believe that Pixar is on a good path with exception to Cars 3, and that is a small price to pay to keep the lights on!

Westworld (2016–2022)

Season 2 is rushed and the writing shows

[5/10 · 23 June 2018]

Its not believable in the lest, despite having great actors. A big lost opportunity, but when the season was rushed through I kinda expected the worst and got most of it.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)

Its the first movie for a long time that keeps you on edge

[8/10 · 7 June 2018]

That is the excitement from start to finish. There is a real sense that everyone except the child would suffer a gruesome death.The story is kinda repetitive which is actually why I didn't give it 10. Henry Wu is a bad guy for 2 movies already, surely some cop or constable would be on his butt. They seem to always have no phones, computers or something to call the cops on that guy. I would have loved to see the real development that included use of phones and stuff in this movie, but still it didn't feel like a world outside our own so the high rating remains. Watch it yourself, you won't be disappointed. Its definitely above a B movie, not quite Dark Knight :p.

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (2014– )

A solid start

[7/10 · 28 December 2017]

Jimmy has tried to be a show of variety and class since the beginning, and I really was surprised that he managed to do that out of the big three. I honestly believed that he was going to regurgitate talking points but instead he stirred clear mostly of those things and gave a wide spectrum of audience what they want, comedy, or attempted comedy on the bad nights. Thanks Jimmy, you have proven to be consistent, I wish all the best for you if you continue your thing.

Late Night with Seth Meyers (2014– )

He used to be funny...

[3/10 · 28 December 2017]

Then Donald Trump got the nomination, and even got elected and he never recovered from that episode. Now its 24/7 lecture about the Rs and mind you many people who watch these shows didn't actually vote, or cannot vote, or don't care and yet we are subject to this new Seth.

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (2015– )

It has a very different audience in mind compared to legacy Late Night shows.

[5/10 · 28 December 2017]

He has become even more unoriginal since taking the helm from Letterman, if that was possible in the Colbert Report. I used to think he was funny in Colbert Report if I needed my monthly dose of political humour, and he poking fun at the system. Today, it is no longer funny because he has literally nothing else to say and its supposed to be a late night show which involves comedy, not a late night lecture on political talking points. It caters to the most niche of audience, and since it has worked to expand that base, losing viewers like me mean nothing to him which I respect because he has to take a side and so its passable but honestly if I had to watch it for a module, 0 stars would be more appropriate.

Bill Burr: Walk Your Way Out (2017 TV Special)

Strong performance

[8/10 · 27 December 2017]

Bill Burr at his best. He is evolving to cover topics in a way that doesn't land him on the front page of the NYT or Washington Post, he always has a few experimental topics (the monkey and cruise ships) and some audience are more receptive than others with those edgy ones. Other than that he was so on point it makes it worth it. Thanks for the having the balls to try new material and stuff, its literally mind blowing how you stay at a high level for such a long time. Long may it continue Mister Burr!

Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

The master of all but one

[10/10 · 5 October 2017]

I think the movie was very seamless, it showed us believably a world where fear dominated each decade with different incarnations. The apolitical fear of surveillance is put in front, where nefarious people can track K down wherever he went. That is something beautiful, and inevitable for such tech. The blade runner himself seemed to be believable, but I think the forced resistance towards the end made it dangerous close to becoming trapped in the Divergent generic pop.

Ford's signature attention to detail could have been used in more than one scene with the blind man, but I enjoyed the fact that he was put into the movie in a very organic way.

I also thought the ending was dragged out a bit too much, and I was very miffed that Jo's girlfriend died, so minus one star from me. But then again its movies that make us feel all kinds of emotions, so one star is added for its realism and lack of tact. Thank you.

The Foreigner (I) (2017)

Action Flick

[8/10 · 5 October 2017]

This is a classic action flick (7.5) with none of the shortcomings of modern film, which are steep in talking points and very little entertainment. It would get an 8.5 if the ending didn't do in Pierce Bosnan, that's uncalled for really for, he's a 007. He did his best the entire film and got shoved in the butt. Other than that thank you Jackie!

An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power (2017)

Inconvenient fact check

[4/10 · 28 August 2017]

Al Gore made several daring and outlandish predictions in his 2006 movie, go see it, the 2006 version. It was interesting, made a few points based on sound logic and fast forward to 2017, none of those predictions came true. He talked about Florida and Manhattan being underwater, the glaciers to be a thing of the past and if it came true, he was a prophet, but now it just feels like he is getting rich off these initiatives, and most people have covered his own usage and carbon footprints so I don't have to point out the hypocrisy. In his 2017 movie he said well you know there was a flood in a statue in a park in Manhattan during a Hurricane so the prediction was justified. Really? Its bogus and comes off as disingenuous.

The other thing is, the oceans are warming up in a manner that hasn't been proved to be man- made, and we need to address that, but he has put his focus on Carbon Dioxide emission (the basis for a Carbon Tax). However, humans contribute a very small percentage to that, and that is not the main problem gas for GH effect and the global temperatures aren't increasing significantly since the late 90s. He is creating a fake argument when there are real problems that are not addressed at all. He also hasn't addressed the problem that electric cars are emission friendly, but pollute the environment significantly when you extract the vast amount of raw resources needed to make those things. Silicon, silver, other raw resources extractions are very polluting and could even surpass the pollution of making gasoline cars and this is not addressed. I am not saying build 6 litre engine and go crazy, I am saying electric cars may be less of a solution than an efficient 1.5 litre car. These prospects are completely shut down and we keep stripping the mines for resource to build electric cars and somehow that is the only solution to global warming.

Do you see how weird that is? It is completely plausible that this man has no clue what warms the planet, it could be the molten core, it could be the position of the Earth relative to the Sun, but he has taken just one factor (CO2) and exaggerate his own impact when expedient and then blaming humans for things that are outside their control, and not addressing real problems. I like that he bring the conversation to the issue in 2006 but honestly, his inaccuracies and wild assumptions make him a potential liability for the need of true environmental understanding and change.

Amy Schumer: The Leather Special (2017 TV Special)

Swing & miss

[1/10 · 24 August 2017]

Amy Schumer has been my favorite female comedian since the early 2000s, with her first special in that chic red dress, the movies and her roasts. That said, she has gone off the rails in her recent work, starting with twitter, then the comedy shows and now the special. I don't see a way back for her because she seems to think there is nothing wrong with this new direction, but I can say she did a 180 from 2002 to today. She is what we call unhinged in terms of creativity and seems to have no filter for which ideas are worth laying her life for. That said, I remain interested in her, and would probably watch another of her special, but god Amy, please get your dang together!

Wonder Woman (2017)

Its a brilliant marketing masterpiece

[9/10 · 12 June 2017]

I guess this is how they will make movies now. The story is bad, the acting is mediocre, Gadot cannot hold an American accent as well as her blue steel stare and yet it is brilliantly billed as a coming-of-age empowerment story that instantly got everyone to fall in line to support it, especially its central idea of a strong woman.

The most important characteristic of this movie, following Beauty and Ghostbusters is is this the new innovation in making movies? The marketing is now more important than having a good director and it seems to be the way forward but thankfully we have tapes if we want to revel in the glories of the past, where films focused almost to a fault on characters, struggles (flaws), acting, story, props, costumes, music and design.