Funkenspalter Reviews

Ragnarok (2020–2023)

Fails at itself

[4/10 · 6 December 2023]

Thanks to everyone who warned about the last part of season 3. Even without spoilers, you can guess what's going to happen at the end of what is actually a strong story.

Anyway, I've seen the first season and it's great. Then the second season fell off, but it's still bearable, but a lot of things are stretched out and you just want to fast-forward. But the third season especially with the ending that makes no sense at all. It makes you wonder who comes up with such a crazy idea and ruins the whole series in the process.

Since I don't really expect quality endings or series from Netflix and the like, I approached it with humour. That's why it was easy for me to watch the last part. I just perceive it as an unnecessary extra and ignore the content. I feel sorry for everyone who put so much energy into season 1 in particular.

Uncle Buck (1989)

Not really a comedy

[5/10 · 31 August 2023]

The film "Uncle Buck" is not a comedy for me, it's more of a drama and that's because of Tia Russell. Her character kills any kind of perceiving the funnier parts as comedy for me.

If they hadn't written her character so horribly over the top and made her "boyfriend" a bit funnier and she had caught him with someone else herself... well, to make the ending right, a lot of things were written the way they are.

The film without Tia, where he only looks after the little ones and then things go wrong in the household and then maybe a side story with the racetrack and the interested neighbour, would have been a good film, so it is just about bearable. It would have been a real prequel to "Home Alone" and Candy could have used much more of his potential.

You can see the possibilities immediately and if someone with a sense of humour had read the script, a lot could have been fixed. But then it really would have been a comedy and not a moral education film.

Operation Napoleon (2023)

Actually for the big screen

[7/10 · 30 August 2023]

A great film. The day before yesterday I stood outside the cinema and had the worst selection of films in front of me. There was Barbie, Doggy Style, Blue Beetle, Teenage Mutant .. Mayhem, The Last Voyage of the Demeter and Meg 2. I would have liked Oppenheimer, but it's just too long.

Well, I went to The Last Voyage of the Demeter and it really wasn't good (4/10), but so what? Then today I stumbled across this film "Operation Napoleon" and what can I say after the unspeakable "Indiana Jones 5" film, which for me was also a low point in cinema, what a surprise.

Why doesn't such a well-made film, financed by ZDF (German television) come to the cinemas and instead something like The Last Voyage of the Demeter, also financed by Germany?

"Operation Napoleon" is a film with an exciting plot at last. Yes, it borrows from good films of the past, but with characters you can sympathise with. The film is quite varied and there are enough villains to make life difficult for the heroes.

I'd like to see more of them, European cinema can still produce good films, but unfortunately you have to look for them.

The Last Voyage of the Demeter (2023)

No lifeblood in this film

[4/10 · 29 August 2023]

Actually, you can't do much wrong. You put Dracula on a ship and what follows is left to the imagination. Stick to that point and only watch the movie if you want to see a hero who can't do anything. Where the storm to rock the ship always sets in at the right moment after the dialogues, where you know in advance who is going to die, where it doesn't matter who will be the next snack and who would like to have a second part of it. Financed by the German taxpayer and probably that's why this screenplay was waved through without profit intentions. There were good opportunities, though. The scenery is harmonious, the actors are good too, the sound is sometimes really good. But it always fails because of the details. For a good film, you shouldn't have 2 key scenes in mind and knit the film around them.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023)

The first 20 minutes are really good

[5/10 · 13 July 2023]

The first 20 minutes are really good and if they had kept this style, Indy 5 could have been a good film. But as it is, the film changes into something completely different. It is no longer an Indy film, but something that fans don't want to see. Indy, the hero of many childhoods, has fallen into disrepair, is isolated, etc. A few moments later he immediately becomes a superhero, only to be belittled again and again by his goddaughter. Sorry, this is no way to write good film scripts. I doubt that anyone likes this goddaughter. What is significant here, although certainly unintentional, is the whole action in the Arab country with a never-ending chase scene. They are pursued by a lovesick man and his people shoot at them all the time, great because then it actually becomes very difficult to have a relationship. Yeah, if that's not enough, it's like that throughout the whole film. There is no respect for age or experience, the goddaughter can do anything and would deliver Indy to the knife several times. Yes, there should be more films like this, oh wait, there are. 5/10 points for the first 20 minutes, after that it just gets difficult.

Mary Queen of Scots (2018)

You get a deceptive package

[1/10 · 19 April 2023]

You get a deceptive package. The trailers and the movie posters show historical images ... epically staged with great costumes, strong women and an inevitable end. What you get is exactly the opposite, as evidenced by the poor box office results and the fact that the film has rightly disappeared into the annals of history.

The film contains too many historical twists to really be a historical film. Had they stuck to the story, it could have been a good film. Unfortunately, much, such as the meeting of the two queens was freely invented or altered to fit into today's events. There were certainly not so many Asian and black citizens at the English court and in such high positions. I wonder who approved the project and if there were any consequences. To capture such a twisted view of European history in film is really a masterstroke of deception by all the backers of this project. Whoever thought of making a profit with it got the deserved receipt. I would have loved to be at the test screenings, what fun to praise this film because of its presumably forward-looking historical significance and behind needed a whole bottle of Scotch whisky to process the experience that was just probably really serious. Probably some people with too much whiskey worked on the project and it was then first with "e" and secondly not Scottish.

What always amazes me is when you see the making ofs for such works, how great the experience was for everyone, that it was a very special film, etc. With the praise. It's already clear before shooting begins that the whole thing won't end well. It's a pity about all the creativity, but maybe the people involved would have thought of something worse. One does not know.

Costumes and music are great, but unfortunately that doesn't make for an exciting film and certainly not one that lasts 2 hours. The potential that individual actors have, was roughly given away and I had really looked forward to this film at the time.

Interstellar (2014)

Recommendable

[9/10 · 19 April 2023]

Well, what can one write about that? Interstellar is a film that offers so many possibilities to reflect on our view of the world, the universe, the psyche, that it is worth watching the film. If you don't like all that, if you didn't do physics at school and don't like wormholes and other scifi stuff, you won't enjoy this film, but even then it's worth seeing because of its visuals and the many ideas about what, when, where and when.

Moreover, it is not only about science, physics and time. No, it is largely about humanity, about each other and questions about ourselves. That is what makes this film so special, it is a very good symbiosis of many areas of our being. Together with the great music, simply remains a great film experience in the memory.

The film takes you on a journey that is so different from what is usually done in the normal everyday life or "film business". If you get involved, this can be an exciting experience accompanied by a thirst for knowledge. It is not a boring action movie with a frame story that fits on a cinema ticket for a Roland Emmerich movie. No, it's a bit more complex than that and that's a good thing. Some of what happens is so hard to imagine, but when I see in Emmerich films that gravity stops right in front of or behind a child and that all the cars behind him are flung somewhere else and also all the houses and cities are flattened, but the hero resists with one hand, then I find the handling here with the subject of physics very successful and recommendable.

Ps: Emmerich stands here only films of similar caliber, where action determines the action of the heroes and gravity, so that it comes to a good end.

Inception (2010)

Can only be recommended.

[9/10 · 19 April 2023]

If you like scifi, you won't be able to avoid this film. This film is just so full of ideas and so well filmed. Yes, in a way, it is a modern classic. Tenet a later Nolan film doesn't come close to the quality of this flick. The opening is also bombastic, but the inconsistent entanglements with the main theme really make life difficult there. Here in Inception it starts off great and stays on such a high level that it is a pleasure to watch this film again and again. The sound, editing and the story itself are also really well done. I really wish there were more films like this. Can only be recommended.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)

Rogue One, is a class scifi film.

[8/10 · 19 April 2023]

Of all the recent Star Wars films, this one is the best for me. Yes, the ending should be familiar to anyone who has seen Star Wars films before. But here the rare synthesis of bringing the old films together in a new time succeeds. Something like the computer game "Alien Isolation". That the prehistory is taken seriously, the plot is carried on consistently and real heart and soul is put into the project. That's why the film feels so good and is watchable several times. Not everything is perfect, but the bar is very high. This film stands on its own in the Star Wars universe and it looks like it won't change much anytime soon. I'd like to see more of that, but unfortunately we get annoyed with such cucumber series like Bad Batch, Obi Wan etc. Movies like Solo: A Star Wars Story are coming out, they would be rejected by me in the planning stages and don't even get me started on the other recent movies. So again the bottom line - Rogue One, is a class scifi film.

Star Trek: Lower Decks (2020–2024)

Absolutely subterranean

[1/10 · 19 April 2023]

The ratings are relative, here they vary between super and absolutely unseen. I had hopes, but unfortunately I have to go with the latter. Yes, you can make fun of the leadership of a starship or Starfleet, but it's so consistently with characters you're not really supposed to like. It looks as if Star Wars makers were supposed to make a show about Star Trek and you could hardly stop laughing that they've been allowed to do that for three seasons now. The foundation of the series is based on an absolutely annoying Ensign "Mariner" and reminds me with horror of Star Trek Discovery, where a superheroine can do everything and the rest is superfluous. It's not my taste and I rate this series as absolutely subterranean.

The Wraith (1986)

Yes, "The Wraith" is simple, but very entertaining.

[7/10 · 17 April 2023]

Yes, "The Wraith" is simple, but very entertaining. That is also what makes this film so good that it has survived the test of time quite well. It has everything you need as an ingredient for a good film. When I think of the last cucumber films like Thor 3 & 4 and much after Avengers Endgame anyway, it's nice to see handmade action sequences again. The possibilities of CGI offer a lot, but it's just a whole other world how e.g. Here the street racing scenes were done. It really pulls you in and is fun. You can really root for the car to make the next turn, especially because the possibilities were so limited back then, but they got quite a lot out of it. So if you like to see a car racing film with pretty girls, nasty villains and a real hero, this is the one for you.

Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)

Must not be

[3/10 · 17 April 2023]

There is not much to say about Avatar 2. The story is banal and fits on a cinema ticket. This time it is set in water, as the title suggests. Those who have seen part 1 don't necessarily have to watch this again, it's almost the same film only with children. Things like this rarely go well, we remember The Mummy ( from 1999). I'm not really looking forward to part 3 at all, because part 2 set the bar so low. It's an underwater documentary with a few explosions and the usual drama-inducing scenes as the standard Hollywood film script dictates. If you haven't succumbed to the schmaltzy-looking CGI adventure after 1h, you might want to pop back in Terminator 2, a much better action film and even with a plot that really moves forward based on Part1.

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023)

If you liked Thor 4, you can watch this film without hesitation.

[2/10 · 5 April 2023]

I really tried to like the film. So many great reviews here, but in the end it's always a matter of taste. I thought it was really boring, no one in our cinema laughed a lot or shared in the excitement and somehow everyone was glad when it was over. The budget was big, the expectations big, what could go wrong? We know a lot now. The posed drama doesn't fit the one-liners, the story itself has no substance and afterwards I watched the trailer, although I never watch trailers and it's true, that's all you need to see. It's a film that relies on a few familiar faces and a lot of bad CGI. It has no charm and will probably disappear into the annals of history. It's a shame about the wasted opportunity. If you liked Thor 4, you can watch this film without hesitation.

Tenet (2020)

only for fans of the Nolan-style

[3/10 · 7 December 2020]

I was in cinema with friends and we hoped for a epic, but it was not. The main actor and the story lacks all the stuff, what Inception maked great. So 2,5h long and only for fans.

Artemis Fowl (2020)

Artemis Foul

[1/10 · 25 June 2020]

Ok, this movie have no real story, too much (bad) CGI and no likeable characters. Yes here is all foul as it can be. Sorry for Artemis and a shame for all children who had hoped for a successor to Harry Potter films. This film is a waste of time.

View from a Blue Moon (2015)

Pure Waves

[8/10 · 8 June 2020]

Yes only waves, no real story, no trouble. Only good music, cuts, waves and fun. I have a lot other surf movies with stories, so its no problem, to have one without all the stuff i need to listen. :-)