Misha_A Reviews

Lucifer: Partners 'Til the End (2021) Season 6, Episode 10

A worthy finale to one of the greatest series of all time.

[10/10 · 11 September 2021]

Lucifer delivers. Every season, every episode. It consistently delivers incredible writing, incredible acting and incredible production. And it's no different with the finale.

There is one scene in the finale where Chloe hugged Lucifer whilst sitting on his lap. Her fingers on his back literally trembled in a heart-wrenching display of emotion.

Lucifer is not an award-winning type of show, but don't for one moment think the level of acting on the show is anything but spectacular. While Tom Ellis is the master of being indignant and angry, Lauren German dominates every emotional scene. Keep a box of tissue handy when watching the finale.

This amazing finale ensures Lucifer will become a rerun staple, just like Seinfeld, Friends, etc. Lucifer will be my comfort show for years to come.

Take a bow, Lauren German, Tom Ellis, Ildy Modrovich and Joe Henderson.

Lucifer: A Chance at a Happy Ending (2021) Season 5, Episode 16

What an excellent finale!

[10/10 · 28 May 2021]

This is what a season finale should look like; great plot, gripping action, superb emotional scenes and exceptional acting. Special props goes out to the very gorgeous Lauren German for her phenomenal range and mastery of the emotional scenes.

Purge of Kingdoms (2019)

Whatever happened to enjoyable parodies like Airplane?

[2/10 · 21 July 2019]

I have a soft spot for parody movies like Airplane, Scary Movie and even Not Another Teen Movie. Purge of Kingdoms, however, is not a parody. It's just a mishmash of terrible skits that feels more like a film major's weekend project than a studio-backed feature film.

Angus Macfadyen and Anna Hutchison will have to spend the next decade explaining why they were in this film.

Murder Mystery (2019)

Surprisingly entertaining

[7/10 · 15 June 2019]

A bit slow in the first half, but it really took off in the second half. Not a laugh-out-loud kind of movie, but entertaining nonetheless. An Adam Sandler whodunnit murder mystery - who would've thought?

Game of Thrones: The Iron Throne (2019) Season 8, Episode 6

It could've been the greatest TV show of all time...

[3/10 · 20 May 2019]

It could've been the greatest TV show of all time, but alas, it fell at the final hurdle. To say that I am disappointed is an understatement. Aside from the half-baked plots and stunted characters of the final season, Season 8 also failed to address many lingering gaps in the story.

At least we can take comfort from the fact that Ghost didn't end up being abandoned.

Logan (2017)

Of broken men and broken dreams

[9/10 · 14 April 2017]

After watching the first X-Men film 17 years ago, I left the cinema thinking that this was going to be the greatest movie franchise of all time. Bryan Singer created a movie that wonderfully weaved reality with fiction, and managed to successfully imbue the gravity and threat of mutants to humanity. In the scene when Cyclops and Storm made their first appearance in the film, you can genuinely feel their extraordinary power. When Senator Kelly spoke about mutants who can enter the minds of humans, you could feel the menace of Charles Xavier when the camera slowly panned to the back of his head.

Alas, in the decade and a half since, the X-Men franchise never reached its promised heights. Characters like Cyclops, Rogue and Storm were butchered and trivialized, while Mystique (yes, Mystique) became the focal point of the X-Men film universe. The franchise's continuity and development also suffered tremendously with weak plots built on weak characters, time travel (!), and again, Mystique. I became jaded with the franchise, and I didn't even feel tempted to watch Logan in the cinema upon its release. Huge mistake, because, as it turned out, James Mangold and Scott Frank blew it out of the park, and Logan is the finest X-Men film since the original.

Logan is a stunning piece of storytelling. It is a story of broken men. It is the story of shattered innocence and the dreams of the young. It is the story of a father and a daughter. It is a story of a father and a son. It is the story of the last two X-Men with nothing left to live for aside from their convictions.

Killing Them Softly (2012)

It coud've been an excellent 15-minute short.

[4/10 · 29 December 2012]

Unlike the movie, this will be a very brief review.

• The plot is simple, perfect for a 15-minute short. Instead, it was stretched to 90-odd minutes, and consequently, filled with over a dozen indulgent, poorly paced, mind-numbing scenes. The character played by John Gandolfini (Mickey), for instance, served absolutely no purpose towards the overarching plot.

• Writer/director Andrew Dominik exhibited strong paleolibertarian leanings in his script, culminating in the final monologue by Jackie Cogan (Brad Pitt).

• Brad Pitt delivered a surprisingly effective, understated performance.

• Sadly, the best scene in the movie is the brutal beating of Markie Trattman (Ray Liotta). It was realistic, though unnecessarily gory, and perhaps a little too violent for many. The scene where the very high Russell (Ben Mendelsohn) was blinking in and out of consciousness also deserves a mention, if only for reminding me of my own youthful escapades.

• Personally speaking, I felt the political allegories and attempt at equating criminal organizations with sociocultural capitalism, along with the impact of the 2007-09 recession, waere a little too obvious and forced. It certainly doesn't help to see TVs in bars playing C-Span!

• Decent music.

In conclusion, ....

(taking a cue from the movie)

The Ides of March (2011)

A maturing Clooney

[10/10 · 4 December 2011]

As cliché' as it sounds, Clooney seems to age like a fine wine. He has successfully shed his image as the ridiculously good looking eternal bachelor of Tinseltown for an aura of respectability. We've seen him grow over the last three decades from one of the thousands of Hollywood pretty boys into one of the most politically aware actors of his generation. It doesn't hurt that the man has developed a fine nuance for understated writing/directing/acting. We've seen shades of it in Good Night, and Good Luck, Syriana and Michael Clayton, but it has come into full bloom here.

If the original Ides of March carries the image of dying Caesar in the arms of Brutus, here, it shows the loss of innocence of our young protagonist, Stephen Meyers, played adeptly by Ryan Gosling.

There is a layered realism to the movie, adapted from Beau Willamon's play Farragut North, leaving even the most politically jaded viewers like yours truly glued to the travails of the Morris (Clooney) campaign. Ably supported by a plethora of established Hollywood character actors, including Oscar winners Philip Seymour Hoffman and Paul Giamatti, Clooney and writing partner grant Heslov managed to weave in little twists that will sneak up on you when you least expect it. But a lot were still left unsaid, and part of the challenge of watching the movie was deciphering the unspoken words, facial expressions and body languages of the actors. The intensity and emotions on display, complete with several very close 'close-ups', appeared too raw at times, but absorbing, nonetheless.

Verdict: 9/10

Is this my favorite movie of the year so far? Oh yes. Will the movie be an Oscar winner? Who knows? Will it be nominated for best picture? Very likely. Will any of the cast members win a major acting award? You bet. Will Clooney nab his second Oscar? You can put your money on it.