xwolven Reviews

Raised by Wolves (2020–2022)

Holy Cow this is Hardcore Sci Fi!!!

[10/10 · 19 January 2021]

This is the Sci Fi that is so rare and we need much much more of. It's totally unpredictable, fantastical, and bizarre but not in an ambiguous artsy interpretive manner. Like Dune, Everything here is logical and grounded but its so far out of this world that it really embraces it's Alien setting. You can't predict the end of a single episode, much less the overall story arc here. It takes your imagination and runs wild with it, constantly surprising with more mysterious depth. I was blown away by this first season. Too often I feel I've seen everything but this changed everything. Game of Thrones also did it for me in finally doing so much more with fantasy than I've ever seen or read before. Raised By Wolves does this with Sci Fi and even more so. Not as huge or branching in scope, but more so in opening up new ideas and yet keeping you wondering about Every little thing because it really is all so weirdly Alien. Please make more Sci Fi like this. Esp Sci Fi Horror. It's such an under-utilized Genre, virtually untouched. This series opens that door to Sooo many possibilities and shows how endless those possibilities still have the potential for in Science Fiction. This series is a very rare 10 for me.

Unknown Origins (2020)

So Surprised at how good it was

[9/10 · 5 October 2020]

I expected this to be so extremely cheesy and played out but I was totally surprised. It was a little cheesy but in a very charming and stylish way. The writing was very clever, self aware, and up to date. I loved the joke from the Cosplay Police Chief who said "This guy's got the patience of a George RR Martin Fan." You can just pick out all kind of geeky little things a real geek is into. Like they even mentioned obscure geek references to Gantz and Berzerk. It was a very fun story and while I expected a very predictable ending, that was also quite a surprise and very cool ending I never expected it and it put a huge smile on my face. Even the Dubbing was well done. It's hard to surprise me but I ended up loving ever part of this movie except the very beginning when I was sure if the characters were going to be good. It didn't take long though before I was loving them all. Even the Villain is cool.

Film Geek (2005)

Charming and Cute Geek Film

[8/10 · 14 May 2016]

This a really low budget film, like say Primer style low budget. But like Primer it's executed perfectly for what they have to work with and it comes out really entertaining and feels more real and personal this way. This is a very cute film. Melik Malkasian is just perfect as the film geek and although not of equal caliber actor, he really reminds me so much of Rami Malek from Mr. Robot. He plays this role with just as much conviction as Rami in Mr Robot. (See I didn't even notice that their names were also similar til now)

This film is kinda embarrassing at times because Scotty can be so socially awkward but it's never pushed like in other bad films to levels that are overly uncomfortable like say Jim Carey has done in the past or the Wayan Brothers do in virtually every movie they make. Its just the right amount to seem realistic. Even Napoleon Dynamite did this a bit too much and made it hard for me to enjoy that film. If your a fan of movies like Revenge of the Nerds, you will really like this one even though its low budget, the message of the movie really comes across well. That message being that even though you may be outside what's considered "Normal" by society; if you're a good person, passionate, and good at something, eventually you'll find a niche of people to appreciate what you can do.

The world is full of different kinds of people and there's a place for everyone. Very well done movie!