cajete Reviews

Ghost in the Shell (2017)

From oblivious to fan boy

[10/10 · 6 May 2017]

This is the first ever Ghost in The Shell piece I have ever watched. I saw the movie and was instantly hooked. I loved it! The atmosphere, the plot, the characters, the back stories and the OST. Immediately after the movie I downloaded all the anime and saw it all. And guess what? I still like the movie the most. So to say they failed this movie is a complete understatement. I truly believe it's underrated and critiqued to harshly. They did many things and changed a lot of things to appeal to a broader audience and in my opinion it works. As a complete newbie to Ghost in The Shell I found the movie to have a striking balance between all it's elements, enough to keep me invested, curious and wanting more. It's a good film to whet your appetite. Nothing is to confusing, nothing is dumbed down to much or perhaps enough to give you the perfect understanding and intrigue. Overall I thought it was solid and a good introduction for someone who's never seen or heard about Ghost in the Shell. It won't appeal to everyone but don't negate the fact that it's definitely worth at least watching to see if you like it.

Ex Machina (2014)

Excellent! Well deserved praise!

[10/10 · 17 May 2015]

This has to be hands down the most realistic depiction of what the creation of an A.I. would be like. It's a movie absent of extra flashy and extravagant Hollywood effects that usually tend to accompany movies of this genre. Despite this, it is a movie rooted deeply in it's dialogue and was incredibly well written, researched and thought out. This movie takes you and envelops you in a concept so controversial and so deeply rooted into the idea of humanity and what it means. Your brain will wander like you have some form of attention deficiency because it so tempting to lose yourself in thought for what your watching. The topic of A.I. is explored so well and from a point of view that engages you by making you ask questions to yourself. The movie doesn't spoon feed you. You ponder at why characters say certain things (in a smart and intellectual way) and what the purpose of things said are. An incredible example of this are some of the Turing test scenes. How well written those scenes were, I mean truly well written and pieced together so intelligently and artistically. I never knew one could write about such a complex topic and make it so simplistically interpret- able at the same time. A part of me wanted more, the movie left me yearning for more. I wanted to see more of AVA, more of how she though, I wanted to perform a Turing test myself. If this is not a testament to how intriguing and engaging her character is, then I don't know what is. There are many grey areas, what is morally right and wrong but the movie is not bias. It keeps a neutral tone and lets you deduct from that. Overall, I thought this was a breath of fresh air. An incredible "Sci-Fi" movie. I would recommend this to anyone with some degree of critical thinking skills any-day. I think a 9 is well deserved.

Horrible Bosses 2 (2014)

I laughed so hard

[8/10 · 13 February 2015]

I honestly thought it was way better than the first. This movie is ridiculous, the whole scenario is ridiculous which is what makes it funny. The three main actors have the best synergy. Three morons who try to kidnap a millionaire's son for ransom, you can only imagine the chaos that ensues. I really enjoyed it, but the humour is a little silly so it's not for all. You either going to like it or hate it, more specifically Charlie Day. A lot of people complain about his voice, but personally I thought he was one of the funniest. One thing is for sure, this movie does not deserve a 6. It's well above 6 and should easily be ranking 7-7.5 score.

Curse of Chucky (2013)

No more comedy. Back to Chucky's roots.

[6/10 · 24 September 2013]

I don't write many movie reviews on here. That being said, this is one of those movies I just had to share my thoughts on. Firstly, everyone who is saying this is the worse of the series is completely mental. The last two Chucky movies were atrocious. They took the essence of the originals and convoluted them into some sort of dark comedy. In my opinion, that's not what Chucky's about. Chucky's about a sinister doll that possess the soul of a serial killer. It works as a horror movie more than it does a comedy. Curse of Chucky accomplished what the last three movies didn't. It stayed true to what Chucky is. It respected the fundamentals of the first two movies. Yeah, of course you'll have your cliché moments, and some those cornish one liners, but hell, what horror movie nowadays DOESN'T have them. The writing, the acting, it was decent. It wasn't SPECTACULAR, or AMAZING, but it was EFFECTIVE and good enough for what it is and for what it's worth. I give this a 7/10, and recommend giving it a chance.

Detachment (2011)

Poetic Approach & Metaphorical

[8/10 · 27 February 2012]

I'm going to disagree with some of the reviews I've read. I think, I believe, this film is very meaningful. It's poetic in what it portrays but also very bleek. So much in-fact, it's almost depressing. That's not to say there aren't a few joyful moments in the film, it's definitely a harsh reality as-well as an insightful way to express the issues that flood today's educational system in America. But it's much more then that, which is what I like the most about the film. It's an entire metaphor about life, it's ups and downs, how it effects everyone differently and how each individual person copes. It's symbolic in how it expresses that there is hope for those who struggle long enough to find it, if you've yet to lose yourself. If your deep into indie dramas, I say this is a good pick. Be warned, it's gloomy.

Splice (2009)

This is Definitely Underrated

[10/10 · 9 August 2010]

I've read so many negative reviews about this one and I have to give my opinion and clear some things up. Despise the negatively, I was still tempted to watch this film. So I'm immediately going to say, this was not bad at all. I was actually very impressed if not, overly satisfied. From what I was hearing, I thought it would be hell to get through this one. Fact of the matter is, though many will argue it's a bit unoriginal withing the confines of it's genre, I still believe it was an effective film. What made it effective? The problem with many other films who have tried similar plots to this is that they simply do not hold the caliber in quality. Splice was a film that was destined to be made in this era. The plot is believable, the special effects were decent, hell, they were damn good and it's a film that moves along at a rate that was neither fast or slow. You develop emotions and connections to the characters. Adrian and Sarah were good and Delphine did a superb job as Dren. I would honestly say this film deserves a higher IMDb score. The film made an impression that was much more worthy of a 6.5. The film has it's little plot twists here and there and at times it leaves you wondering. People complain about the ending, but come on... it's not like you didn't have an idea of what was going to happen from the beginning. You may say that's what they failed at, but let's be realistic, in real life something of this magnitude would have not had a happy ending. I would like to end this by say that I will never see Adrian as I use to EVER again after this film. People know what I mean. LOL

The Strangers (2008)

A Horror Of A Movie

[1/10 · 2 August 2009]

This was the most god awful horror/suspense title I've ever seen. Through-out the entire movie, it was literally just banging at the doors. Yes, a little flash of the killers wearing the masks every now and then, but seriously... nothing close to scary. This should have a genre of its own. This movie just goes to show you how crappy screen plays make it mainstream as long as you have some decent actors. The plot was so mundane. There was just no climax. As well as the fact that most of the movie takes place in the house. But hey, if you enjoy watching someone cry and scream in a single spot, same camera angles, same scenery for an hour and a half straight then watch it. Don't get me started on the ending. It made no sense what so ever. After the movie was done, I could hear people getting up and complaining. I wanted a refund. I don't know what else to say about this poorly made movie.