rupertwalker Reviews

Don't Worry Darling (I) (2022)

Kitsch, weak and overplayed

[2/10 · 31 July 2023]

It's like the director and writer have seen similar genre, tried to recreate it, but forgot to add originality and a catch beyond glib repetition. It spends the first hour or so build up tension but after the first half hour the building of tension actually undoes itself.

The casting is boring, the script is below average, and frankly it misses the mark heavily on the aesthetic and cultural commentary it attempts to portray.

Oddly enough I found even the sound mixing to be an irritant. It's like they realise the plot is substandard and attempt to overwhelm the viewer into thinking what they're watching is a worthwhile and reasoned movie.

And frankly, and finally, Florence Pugh plays a gormless simpleton perfectly, as is her usually expression and wodden 'as-a-prop-only' acting. I try to give her the benefit of the doubt often but it's almost like writers deliberately water down roles to suit her substandard performances. I hope she gets better over the years, because frankly she's taking roles that other could be filling. It's clear Hollywood are desperate to find the next blonde-and-pretty, but Florence is certainly an unfortunate choice for that. Let's get better, not worse. And don't even get me started on Harry Styles, matchmade in heaven. Reliving the movie whilst writing this has exhausted me. Put me out to pasture along with this movie.

The Boys (2019– )

Excellent take on heroism and corruption

[6/10 · 10 September 2022]

Fantastic show. Reminds me of the spirit of Watchmen. My only problem was the accents, firstly, Simon Pegg, jeez did he ever pay to get a part. Abysmal US accent, he'd have been better off just being a British ex-pat with a son raised in America. Butcher's accent slips all over the place too, thankfully he does okay it most of the time. (Source: I'm British)

For those who think it's 'too woke', it's not, it's neutral and satires extremes. Extreme corporatism hijacking social movements to protect their bottom line for example.

Season 3 slipped a bit, but that's okay because they have to go off-piste a bit compared to the source material.

Anyways if you liked this you'll like Watchmen, both the movie and the series. I don't enjoy most superhero films, because they always leave out the issues protested in this show. Would recommend. Be warned there are some very graphic scenes, for those of a milder disposition.

Hellier (2019)

Watched all, so exhausted I couldn't finish the review

[3/10 · 3 September 2022]

As the title says I watched it all, it was draining and uneventful. After such a long time watching it I was too exhausted to finish my review, so here's my notes.

The first episode with the twitter exchanges and apparently weirdly timed, albeit human programmed, tweet bot. Kind of amused me; I images goblin hackers trying to honeypot themselves. Iwas odd, by the end of that bit I felt like they were screaming 'we're reminding you twitter exists, so go tweet about our show!'

They seemed stuck for content or afraid to wield the knife and leave scenes on the cutting floor.

Mundane details are excruciatingly drawn out during the talking head/'interview' parts, and plastered together with interstitials of mostly dizzying camera work, irrelevant details, and when that's not happening you're stating the at same people, just talking to a fictional interviewer. A bit more about the interstitials - Shots of nothing, shots of texts or email that's already being read out for you. There's even one section where they're reading a lengthy letter from some, I felt like a cutscene in a video game. I wanted to skip that part so badly. They seemed to write so much for it but it just does not translate to visual entertainment.

Get tired of seeing the same faces talk on the talking heads, or 'interview' segments.

They manage to nail the spooky unknown omg what is it parts, and successfully create an otherworldly and seemingly dark force of creatures lying in wait. It's just a shame that they have to deeply explain every moment of everything, like they're being interrogated by the police, but instead I feel like the viewers are being exhausted until we confess we like the show.

Considering the extreme volume of the talking heads with useless visuals it feel like this could just be a podcast serial instead.q Yes things may get visually interesting at times but really it's hard to hold a gaze for so long when the content is sooo repetitive! Like I get the documentary style but no one's here for that, as we know it's fictional. So cut out the vast array of added interview parts or then discuss like a map or a piece of paper or a drawing or an email, and put then in a podcast or website, or just cut them altogether!

I liked the shots of the cats in episode two. They were cute.

Vivarium (2019)

Decent. Watched twice. Would recommend for the oddity

[6/10 · 3 September 2022]

The situational context actually takes away from the social commentary. The extremely bizarre circumstances just aren't a good device to explore these themes. You can suspend your disbelief to allow the plot to 'makes sense', the labyrinth, but then you have to again to realise that this is not at all how most people would react in this situation. They movies tries to have it both ways, and this ends up drawing away any sympathy for the characters.

They should have gone full 'sci-fi' and fleshed out some of the world they built, and the aliens/monsters/cuckoos. There's so many amazing options to explore there. You can reduce the social commentary to more subtle and subtextual ways and it could have been more powerful even. Each situation they're put through seem less and less cohesive to the characters that have been built in previous scenes.

I have just finished watching this for the second time. Sadly it doesn't have the magic it does the first time, the movie relies mainly on surprise of course, and when that's stripped away you can clearly see the weaknesses outside of the excitement of the unknown.

In summary, the movie is condescending to the audience and spoon feeds then the social commentary aspects. So many masterpieces have subtext but it isn't directly pointed at with a neon sign! Stylistically it's interesting, script is okay, acting quite good, and plagued by missed opportunities. Not sure if it's the sound, lighting, or filter, but it was much too obvious that it's all filmed in a studio, maybe this was intentional I don't know. Certainly a good film to see once, have a few thoughts or a chat about, then immediately move on. Sadly the failure to flesh out the universe results in the equivalent of a sugar rush from candy instead of nutrition from a nice meal.

Funny points: I burst out laughing when she says to the 'kid' - "You're a mystery and I'm gonna solve you." Very cringey stuff.

And on second watching the kid isn't creepy any more, mainly because it seems to lose it's agency. It's pretty hilarious.

There's a ridiculous exposition where the woman says they want to kill 'them' with a pickaxe. Like yeah that's obvious, but thanks for treating me like a child who can't follow movies.

American Horror Story: Madness Ends (2013) Season 2, Episode 13

Descent

[2/10 · 3 November 2021]

The series starting very well, tragically by this episodes I really couldn't pay attention anymore. Lana's character arc became a car crash, I could barely watch any scenes with her in this episode.

They ruined a half decent character, her hubris is almost sickening. The episode was so drawn out, confused, and you can really tell this was rushed through the writers' room.

I'll move on to season three but I'm really losing favour with this show. It's a massive shame, but clearly declining viewing figures forced them to change direction, rather than keeping it fresh organically.

American Horror Story: Welcome to Briarcliff (2012) Season 2, Episode 1

Okay

[4/10 · 2 November 2021]

The immediate expositions and weak 'titillation' charged by sex-talk really pulled away from what could otherwise be an atmospheric and chilling opening episode. "You can totally put it in my a** right now." Hmm. Need I say more?

It's massively condescending to the audience and relies on forcing arousal in viewers to gauge an emotional reaction. The opening credits couldn't come sooner.

The scenery was great but ruined by the cut-and-paste actors. This of course improves later but didn't take away the distinct knowledge I was watching a show, rather than being absorbed in to a created world.

American Horror Story: Boy Wonder (2018) Season 8, Episode 5

Stevie Nicks is out of tricks

[2/10 · 2 November 2021]

The appearance of Stevie Nicks in this episode is one of the most cringeworthy cameos/call-backs I've ever seen in television.

I was half paralysed by the cringe and half sedated from how utterly boring and unimpressive it was. Pulled me completely out of the story and felt extremely desperate. Really falling out with this season. It's a shame because it started so strongly.

American Horror Story: Traitor (2018) Season 8, Episode 7

Too many cringey tropes

[3/10 · 2 November 2021]

Of course, the black actor HAD to practice voodoo didn't she. Sigh. For a show that mentions racism you'd think they'd be keenly aware of how bad this is. And the African music? I was nearly pulling my hair out.

For starters voodoo has nothing to do with witches or Wicca. This episodes brings down the whole season and will certainly not stand the test of time. Ridiculous.

Wrong Turn (2021)

The first half is relatively good

[3/10 · 1 November 2021]

It's starts well, intriguing, nicely shot, and a good story. It's slightly wooden acting.

About half way through it's gets ridiculous. There was a lot of potential but they had to go and ruin. It morphs in to non-sensical garbage soon after they're captured. It's becomes cringey, frustrating and at times laughable.

House at the End of the Street (2012)

Quite painful to watch.

[3/10 · 1 November 2021]

Risible, transparent, predictable, weak and contrived.

This pretty much sums up every scene and line performed.

It was a struggle to sit through. The whole event left a bad taste in my mouth. I'll have forgotten about this in an hour and will never look back.

The Twilight Zone: The Wunderkind (2019) Season 1, Episode 5

Many (salty) reviewers are missing the point with this epiaode

[8/10 · 24 October 2021]

It's supposed to be ridiculous, it's supposed to be larger-than-life and funny. It's a satire on someone incompetent, vastly unexperieced, immature and over-emotional becoming President. Guided by people who are more focussed on themselves than the greater good, such as Yes Men.

The fact that someone that poor and ignorant can become President, backed by voters who are spewing rhetoric is so close to the bone.

In the post-Trump years it's a well needed comic relief so we can all look back with laughter rather than the constant remorse and regret.

You could literally deepfake Trump in to this episode and it would be painfully funny. Would love to see that.

"He didn't know s**t about the tax code but he was human, that's more than I can say about anyone else there." - and that's the reason a moron can get elected.

Get Out (I) (2017)

Reviews here are funny.

[9/10 · 21 October 2021]

There's two kinds,

Firstly there's a healthy amount of reviews that are genuine ones with practical critique. Ranging from 6-10 out of 10.

The second is salty little children who only hate it because a right-wingers who get paid by billionaires to give them propaganda told them that PC "wokeness" is taking over so they must rate it 1/10. Paranoid losers who are embarrassing themselves. If the reality of race in America portrayed on film makes you uncomfortable then that says more about you than anything else. Not nice when someone holds a mirror up to you is it? It's still got a high rating even after bridgades of racists and scared folk deem it their duty to do fraudulent reviews.

I really enjoyed this movie and it had some fantastic aspects. Congrats to all involved, truly memorable and well made. Chilling and suspenseful throughout. Got that perfect itch you can't quite scratch that a lot of the best horrors have. The comedy fits perfectly and what a great blend of genres this is. Would recommend to friends, and will certainly watch again in the future to discover the layered aspects.

Midsommar (2019)

A mixed bag, a bit over overdone and drawn out

[3/10 · 21 October 2021]

At times it was often predictable, especially if you've seen any similar movies. Quite a few too many tropes and simplistic plot devices.

Casting was above average, and some great cinematography.

Sadly by the time the sex scene kicks in it's mostly a comedy.

Worth a watch, maybe take a nap about a third of the way in.

Oh, and before I finish, they could have taken the car they arrived in if they wanted to leave, as the British couple intended too (one of the other moon triggers that felt condescending).

The Office: Suit Warehouse (2013) Season 9, Episode 11

Avoid

[3/10 · 16 September 2021]

Great show, exceedingly poor episode. Mostly because of the Jim/Pam/Daryl side of the episode. Patronising to the viewer and extremely dry. Yet another cascade of filler content. And yup, Pam's jealousy of Daryl is so out of character. Just a build-up to the "tension" in Jim and Pam's relationship.

Oh actually now I think about it, the Nespresso product placement was overt and unforgivable. What made it worse was the content they built from it, just a bunch of people drinking too much coffee. That's not how people are with too much coffee. Exhausting, and no, not because I drank too much coffee, my energy levels crashed from too much poor episode.

The Dwight/Clarke bit was pretty funny. Dwight always delivers.

The Office: Lice (2013) Season 9, Episode 10

I don't even know

[3/10 · 16 September 2021]

I've watched the Office about six times from first episode to last. It hurts to watch this one each time, and on this run I skipped a majority of scenes. I felt better doing this.

I absolutely adore this show, so it was a huge shame to have to sit through it. Even a clip show would be preferable to this. Such a shame.

And Daryl's breakup with Val was just trash. Daryl doesn't act like that, and I actually disliked what he did. It wasn't funny and reminded me of the episode where Kelly says "who says exactly what they're thinking", about Daryl. Well, apparently Daryl doesn't anymore, they completely changed his character. Either that or they didn't stay faithful to even an ounce of how Daryl is as a person. This feels like it's written, not like a documentary in the style of the show. The build up getting us invested in Val and Daryl turned to nothing and was callous, you can tell they had to change plans and rush towards the finale. Such a shame.

Pam didn't seem herself, Meredith was poorly executed comic relief. Wooded all the way through from both of them.

They brought in a celeb, that basketball dude, an obvious attempt to gloss over a bad week in the writers' room.

Tenet (2020)

Yawn

[4/10 · 12 September 2021]

Backwards yawn.

Pretentious without substance, this is obvious by the sound mix needing to overwhelm, rather than the story having its own merit.

Stupid premise (I'm a big sci-fi fan FYI), pointless titillation, a stale process, with a paint-by-numbers villain whose motives are never fully established.

Watch this if you want to say to your friends you understand a pile of garbage but without admitting or realising it's garbage. 'Understanding' this is the equivalent of giving a child a gold star for merely finished their homework they're meant to do.

Artists have a bad streak, and this is certainly one of them. I get the distinct impression many involved in production were simply 'Yes Men' and didn't want to view anything critically, lest they be scorned for criticising a beloved Director. High review scores from critics yet again reinforces that the whole review industry at large is a revolving door where friends mustn't criticise friends.

The Mist (2017)

Watch the movie, avoid the TV show, please!

[3/10 · 8 March 2021]

I liked the movie after a friend recommended it.

I expected the tv series to potentially expand on the world built in this story, but it doesn't, and even damages any characteristics built in this small town. It doesn't seem at all faithful to the source material written by Stephen King.

The most awkward part of this series for me was the cringeworthy, blatant, and poorly executed references to religion, mainly (nearly all) American-Christian. It feels like it was written for middle-America, by which I mean it was generic appeasement of already held moral and social beliefs that don't exist in modern culture.

The production was quite poor with scenes in The Mist being uncomfortable to watch due to special effects. It just pulls you out of any imagined realism and makes it abundantly clear they're in a studio. Surely they could afford better effects when they clearly spent such little time and money on the script.

Characters were two-dimensional and stale, and at times I often found their motivations completely unbelievable, to the point where the so-called protagonists annoyed me and I had no connection to their troubles. Antagonists were deeply transparent and cliché, and don't even get me started on the two video games store owners. I hope no actors lost any career opportunities because of the poor script they had to perform from.

Overall I would recommend that people avoid this, I felt drained after watching it and it was largely a waste of time. It pains me to see such a great concept and story go to waste. The only redeeming factor was that it is a lesson in how NOT to write and produce a show.

The Stranger (I) (2020)

Not good, but not awful considering it's shortcoming

[3/10 · 8 March 2021]

The character motivations are confused and at times non-sensical. A lot of the characters are cringeworthy stereotypes and there are many instances of a lack of realism and overacting. There are plot holes throughout and meaningless attempts at tension. For those saying they're not sure why is has poor ratings: it's the production, thriller tropes, and the sprinkling of decent actors.

I feel like the research for surrounding issues have been done by a boomer mum who has gleamed article headlines on Facebook and has tried to insert them in to a pop psychology format.

Many of the technical points such as police procedure, what "going viral" means, drugs use, common law, court cases, politics etc are poorly researched the shallowest understanding.

Hyperbolic plot points are used to create drama rather than allowing an organic formation. The so-called "cliffhangers" are cheap and resolved with little fanfare because of overhyped drama that doesn't exist.

I can't help but get an overall impression that there is little depth to the writing and character formation. It feel out of touch and a paint-by-numbers mystery which doesn't have a clear vision. You can tell exactly the type of person who wrote this, and to whom it is aimed at.

For the record I haven't read the novel it is based on, but I'd be confident is saying that this show can stand independent and is a generic and unremarkable attempt at the source material.

I can't see this show gaining much international traction as it reeks of another grey British tv show that aims for the lowest common denominator.

The Frame (2014)

A Masterpiece

[9/10 · 5 January 2021]

How this rates under 7 on here is beyond me. The score is beautiful and perfectly done. The story is gripping wherein you can just let it unfold before you. It's so well crafted. The characters were so well written and the actors did a fantastic job, believable, relatable and interesting.

I would highly recommend to all people, and will certainly be watching this again. A triumph and now one of my favourite films. Kudos to all involved. There's definitely some really interesting interpretations to be taken from this film, I won't go in to any here, I really believe each viewer will have their own personal perspective and should explore it themselves with their own thoughts. The social commentary is subtle and non-intrusive, making it relatable and engaging. I couldn't look away and wanted to absorb every moment.

After the Dark (2013)

This is tragically bad, and disrespectful to intelligence

[1/10 · 4 January 2021]

1. Philosophy classes don't work like this, at all. In fact it is the antithesis of philosophy and does damage rather than piquing intellectual curiosity.

2. Thought experiments don't work like this, these are not thought experiments.

3. Professions don't definite people's skill and attributes.

4. The apocalyptic scenarios make no sense or have massive flaws in logic.

5. The professor is unbearable, no intelligence and does little to teach, only provoke emotion, pointless.

6. Somehow the lead actress is bland and her "acting" is poorly applied, no idea how she got this role. I ended up wishing she didn't survive each scenario, instead it was patience that got obliterated.

7. Overacting is commonplace.

8. The music tries to set a pace and tension which just doesn't fit, clearly whoever made the music is fairly talented but it just didn't fit with the film.

9. The movie goes in the ridiculous detail which wouldn't be discussed in a thought experiment. All conceptual realisations are stripped of their value because of this.

10. The movie isn't sure what it wants to be, ends up being a gray and confused mix of nonsense.

11. This is philosophy for people who don't understand what philosophy is.

12. I haven't written a review before, so congrats on this film for making so incensed that I had to warn others.

13. Here's a thought experiment: if I hadn't watched this film would my quality of life improve? Yes, yes it would.