nellz_nivlecn Reviews

Oppenheimer (I) (2023)

Most excruciating three hours on cinema

[5/10 · 19 July 2023]

Excruciatingly long, slow and *gasp* dare I say it, boring. It's boring. The only good thing was the stacked cast of actors, it get to a point while I almost doze off, Casey affleck's voice woke me up and then yeah there he is, a surprise appearance by casey affleck yayyy. That's how bored I am.

This is a passion project of Nolan, only it felt like he made it for himself and that's fine actually. Too bad I dont enjoy this movie, though another thing I do enjoy however was the score. It is mighty cinematic & beautiful, it also enhances some of the boring dialogue which otherwise would be rather bland. I've been a fan of Ludwig Goransson since Tenet & Wakanda forever.

I think Nolan's name alone could made this a box office hits, however in this day where our attentions were divided upon so many things, it could prove to be detrimental for our enjoyment of the movie, maybe I couldn't enjoy this movie because my brain was used to shorter & compact contents (Tiktok is a pandora box for me) BUT in my defense, comparing this movie to Nolan's previous works, I cannot say this was superior in any means. Inception, Interstellar, Batmans, Tenet were all feast for my eyes & brain. But I pushed through to the end and I pat myself in the shoulder as I walked out of cinema.

Cinematography is sub par, strory's not really engaging, the back and forth in timeline feels messy, performances was nothing special, all the actors did their job okay, and also the much hyped no cgi for the bomb sequences felt underwhelming. I agree that they dont need CGI because this is not an action movie, it's a historical biography movie whom also focuses a lot on political tension during wartime. And it wont matter much anyway, the bomb scene was just a short scene. So I guess the much hyped marketing tactic which spread around saying all of the effects was practical was actually inconsequential.

Feel free to skip this one as I felt the regular nolan fans will be dissapointed. Its a historical biography drama but less emphasis on the drama.

The Banshees of Inisherin (2022)

Amused & disturbed at the same time

[8/10 · 1 January 2023]

Nobody does black comedy like sir martin here. The plot may have seem rather simplistic and yet I cannot peal my eyes away from the screen the entire time, that is also attributed by the stellar performance of the four main cast. I think this just became my favorite Colin Farrel movie, his portrayal just shines so much here. What started as an amusing comedy who then turned slightly disturbing and later on verging on horror (at least for me) this is one of the best drama that came out in 2022. Absolutely love the cinematography of this movie, the rich rocky landscapes of ireland and the colouring is done so beautifuly. This movie deserves all the awards, truly bravo.

Disenchanted (2022)

We did asked for a sequel

[6/10 · 28 November 2022]

But not this pastel vomit looking of a world. Can't believe the original cast agree to participate in this. The set design, customes and CGI are terrible, looks very cheap and fake. This movie plays like a low budget B movie or low budget Hallmark movie, you wouldn't guess that this came from disney. Especially the scenes with patrick dempsey strolling around looking for dragon/ ogre/ troll to slay, I cringe just remembering when he entered a cave and were slingshotted back like a cartoon character. Maybe that's it, maybe this movie would've worked so much better had it been an animation. Oh well.

The only saving grace are Amy Adams and the OG cast. Also love the idea that Giselle herself turns into a evil stepmother, she pull it off seamlessly. The script and the story overall is not that bad but the execution were very lacking. The songs though, yikes, nobody asked for this much & the only memorable song were the villain duet between Amy Adams & Maya Rudolph.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)

Story done right

[10/10 · 10 November 2022]

A standing ovation for Mr. Ryan Coogler! Didn't think he could do it but wow, I am completely wowed. I believe what made Wakanda Forever great is because the story it presented. We are served with amazing character growth, meaty plot, great pacing, beautiful score, briliant action sequences and wonderful introduction of the underwater people. My eyes were entirely glued to the screen, I am thoroughly engaged with the whole experience that is Wakanda Forever. Our beloved Chadwick Boseman would be very proud and pleased with how the story continued to go forward and honoring his legacy. What will always make a movie work, no matter what the genre, is the story. A great solid story from beginning to end will always work. He outdid himself, my standing ovation to you Mr. Coogler! The best superheroes film in the entire 2023!

Jurassic World Dominion (2022)

Painfully mediocre

[5/10 · 5 July 2022]

Slaps together some characters without depth and this is what you got, the only pull they got is the old characters returning. Otherwise this fell flat. Meh action, meh storyline, meh plot. At this point the dinosaurs no longer surprising nor terrorizing, they're just there as obstacles to overcome.

KKN di Desa Penari (2022)

The twitter thread is better

[4/10 · 12 May 2022]

Exactly as the title said. The screenwriter does his best but the story just doesnt flow, too many cuts after important moment, jumping between scenes. Though I'd say the climax of the movie was actually good, the scene where she danced was hauntingly beautiful, the actress that portrays her does a good job.

Was this a good horror movie? No. Its a cautionary tale enwraped in a guise of horror film.

Considering all the hype, you'd be better off stick to the twitter thread.

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022)

Is this really a sequel?

[5/10 · 15 April 2022]

To start off I would say that I am a casual potter fan, I know enough of the lore and world building, I also love the first two fantastic beast movie, I think the plot developed naturally and consistant between the first two. However this third and last movie felt like a sequel for another movie. The continuation is almost there, we have followed the first two movies with the same characters and not that I mind the new characters, but we as an audience have become invested in previous characters & storyline, so this movie somehow took a drastic turn in terms of storyline. Also I think the fault lies in the behind the scene drama that derailed this movie, wether it was the replacement of johnny depp, the non existant role of tina, or the furore of jk rowling. It's a shame really.

The first two movies focused pretty heavily around credence and in this one, his part was reduced a lot, his storyline quickly resolved, he doesnt even get a dramatic reveal or end about his family origins. Also where is nagini? They gave newt's assistant a bigger role here where before she's just a background character. Also im a fan of Johnny depp's Grindewald, but I dont think its mads mikkelsen fault. Here grindewald seems tame, calm and collected whereas before grindewald seems mad and uncontrollable.

Also also what is the secrets of dumbledore??Credence's origin? Which they resolved in just a minute scene? Or was it the fact that he was in love with grindewald? Which we have known waayyy before the first fantastic beast came out?

Professor hicks is just a replacement character for tina, Theseus is just along for the ride, his character is just a sidekick for newt even though he lost his fiance and it SHOULD be his main motive.

Jacob is the comedic relief as usual. Yusuf kama was also just there because he was in the second movie. Dumbledore was just telling people what to do and we still dont know more about him beside that he was in love with grindewald. What a bore.

A pretty dissapointing ending for what was supposed to be a good trilogy. I would only perks up whenever they fight with magic because those scenes are very visually pleasing.

The Batman (2022)

Not my batcup of tea

[6/10 · 3 March 2022]

If you like se7en + zodiac + true detective then you'll probably like this new batman rendition.

I personally didnt really enjoy this 3 hours of dark & nighttime setting. All those black & yellow hue are okay at first but after 90minutes it just gets tedious. Plot wise eeeh its pretty okay if you dont mind convoluted plot and long drawn conclusion. You're gonna feel that almost 3hrs of runtime. It would've sufficed with 2hrs because some shot are just unnecessary and they pan the camera a bit too long, so it adds up. 2hrs would've been better.

The question is, is Robert Pattinson a good batman? For me its to soon to tell, I dont mind him as batman. I think there's still room to grow. I do mind however, that he is so brooding, moody and almost emo batman (almost remind me to uh a certain gentleman who also likes the dark & sparkle, almost) at least there's character growth at the very end of movie. Which is why I said he's still got potential to be a better batman.

There's so little of alfred and that's a shame.

Paul dano as riddler is fine, I just wish he didn't wear a full mask that barely shows his eyes, felt like we missed a good performance. Though we finally saw him without his riddler mask, it just felt like a waste of his performance. Zoe kravitz as catwoman is great, better than her predeccessor Anne hathaway. She's mainly the movie's emotional core in my opinion.

Also the theme of gotham being such a corrupt city run by mob, dirty cop & corrupt politician seems like an overdone. They're much better executed in nolan's trilogy and I think it provides such good closure and ending that revisiting this will of course draws unfavorable comparison.

Oooohh but what a treat that Barry Keoghan, that laugh, that tease. Certainly perks me up from my seat. Now THAT'S the cherry on top of the long drawn out movies. Alas at the very end I just cannot wait for this to be over. Yet I dont mind to see the sequel, gotta love me some barry keoghan.

Eternals (2021)

I love this movie but...

[5/10 · 10 November 2021]

I also kinda dont like this movie. Love the story, the characters, the ideas of it but hated the excecution. Some scenes looked like they were choppily edited together, it doesn't seem seamless if you know what I mean, it ruins the flow between scenes. Also the dialogue, ugh I know this is a superheroes movie so a cliche is pretty much expected. But dangg, some dialogue needed refinement and not too much on the nose. Especially in the opening scenes, gaahh, slowly nodded, slowly talking, slowly picking up things for the dramatic effects, like, who shots this movie?? A fan? A high schooler with a camera?

Okay moving on to the things that I loved. The cast that stands out the most to me is Barry Keoghan, Angelina Jolie, Kumail Nanjiani, Don Lee and Bryan Tyree Henry. The weakest to me was Gemma Chen, the supposed protagonist. I love how they're all different characters with different point of views, when you watch other MCU movies, oftentimes they're all overlapped, everyone is almost always funny with each punchline. With Eternals, not everybody is funny which is very refreshing! Some are more serious than others, more cynical and more gloom. I also love the story of Thena and Gilgamesh, Angelina's role even though she's not the protagonist, she stole every scene she's in and that part with Gilgamesh breaks my heart a little bit. Kumail also shines in this, I love Kingo and his valet. The comedic relief is not over the top like some other MCU movies.

I enjoy the characters, the storyline, the overall plot , the overall design set and but I think this movie could've been executed better. The editing, the flow of the scenes, the direction of some lines, the CGI in some parts is horrendous, this could easily be a 9/10 movie but alas, cant have all perfect MCU movie. Hope they made a sequel though as I love these characters.

Dune (2021)

Visual feast

[6/10 · 20 October 2021]

I remember watching Dune 1984 when I was around 12. They were sandy and water are scarce. And they bore the hell out of me. So in a way watching this movie is kind of a reminiscence for me. Still kinda boring, but by boring this time I meant that the pacing was slow. I get that they have to introduce us to the world, to the families and to the overall socio political background. But it could be executed to be more interesting or at least entertaining. Cinematography was great, as I said it was a visual feast, almost every frame is shot beautifuly, I love the muted down colour palate they have going on here, usually when you see scenes in the dessert, they oversaturated the colour to annoying orange yellowish hue. So this toned down colour is actually very pleasing. Cast was freakin awesome! Love oscar isaac, josh brolin, jason momoa, rebecca ferguson, timothe and javier bardem. The cast elevate the movie, without these actors the movie would be a disaster. The effects are good, the CGI is very well done here. Am I excited for part 2? Well, story wise not really, the story doesnt really intrigue me. I would just be watching part 2 for the visual & the score.

Star Trek Beyond (2016)

A shame

[5/10 · 16 August 2021]

I love LOVE the two previous star trek movies, they are easily in my favorite list of movies. It has great adventure, action, meaty story and everything that made the first two so enjoyable to watch.

This one however, doesn't have the same energy as the first two. This has action and pretty much that's it. It doesn't have any weight, tension, intrigue, most of all this doesn't have heart. Ironically it is exactly like what kirk said in the beginning, almost episodic. The villain is just so boring, cartoonish even, should've chosen a different conflict because the villain always have some beef with the starfleet, no wonder it felt stale.

Even the new character doesn't add anything, she's just there, the movie wouldn't be less awful if she's not there, that's how plain her character was. I wish they kept doing the star trek movies but I fear this one killed the momentum. Too bad as this is one of the franchise with really interesting characters and I really love them.

Blood Red Sky (2021)

Worth the watch, go see it

[8/10 · 8 August 2021]

Blood red sky

A proper vampire movie, a good one too dare I say. This movie is a perfect blend of horror, action and thriller. Not expecting a lot from a vamp's movie because a lot of them has been done to death, but this one has intrigue and heart to it. My attention is glued from start to finish, the nadja character is very well done. Her struggling between her human instinct and vampiristic nature is amazing to watch. My only criticism is the overly obvious psychopathic villain, you'll know which one once you see it.

Overall this is worth the watch, a fresh take on a vampire story!

Wrath of Man (2021)

Good & entertaining action heist

[8/10 · 13 June 2021]

This is a good & decent action heist movie, I was skeptical going in on this because a lot of this type of movie is pretty much a recycled formulaic storylines.

Aside from horrible dialogues and banters in the first act, they manage to delivered a good pace, great action & well rounded plot. I like the fact that this movie is split in three arcs, it made the story much more compelling in terms of the story unfolding & exposition. Jason statham is well, jason statham and I dont mean that in a bad way. I love jason, but im not a fan of a lot of jason statham's movie, some a hit and some a miss. If you want to be entertained by an action movies, don't miss out on this one.

Chaos Walking (2021)

Complete dissapoinment

[3/10 · 6 May 2021]

Usually i'm pretty forgiving of books to movies adaptation because it's just impossible to bring everything from the book, somethings just gotta give, that's just how it works.

I enjoy both books and movies as storytelling mediums, both had pros and cons. Im not one who'd criticize every single flaw in a movie's based on book, usually Im okay with some alterations or different interpretations BUT DAAMNNN did they massacre this adaptation. They managed to turned such amazing story from the book into a hot pile stinky steaming piece of t***. The world building in the book is rich, complex and they worked, but in this movie they somehow made it so unbelievable, rushed, incomplete. The cast is horrible, they completely just banked on the name of Tom Holland and Daisy Ridley, who looked very well into their mid 20's whereas they're supposed to be kids just around 13. Everything went wrong in this adaptation, I was pretty excited going in but cannot believe how they butchered this adaptation. I'll stick with my own brain movie when reading the book instead watching this horrendous adaptation thanks. The only good thing about this movie is I finally can see what a spackle looked like.

I Care a Lot (2020)

I care a lot... about montage

[7/10 · 20 February 2021]

Engaging story, stellar casts, amazing performances but damn the editing of this movie is trash. Does this movie wanted to be a movie or a pile up of trash montages? And the score while the montage plays was good at first but then it progressively deteriorated to the point of annoyance. Seriously who edited this? Ugh, This movie is GOOD dont get me wrong. Go watch it, Rosamund pike was delightful to watch even though I didnt like her character. Storywise, I'd say its interesting, original, fresh and we all know how hard it is to find one in these days of reboots and remakes. It's a good movie but it' could've been GREAT had the editing was better.

Tenet (2020)

Melt my brain

[8/10 · 6 December 2020]

I stopped trying to understand the mechanism of the inversion and instead just enjoyed the intriguing plot line, the delicious score, the amazing practical effect, the glorious cgi effect. Ah nolan you did it again you! Though I'll admit halfway through I almost quit because it felt convoluted but BAM finally things are getting interesting and I am glad I didn't quit. Was this his masterpiece? Probably not, but I'll say this movie is a masterpiece at its genre and one that you would not want to miss. My only regret is that I streamed it instead of watching it on the cinema, as Im sure the experience will be wholly elevated. Alas covid 19 and whatnot, one is grateful enough to get to enjoyed this brilliant movie.

Upgrade (2018)

Science fiction done PERFECTLY

[10/10 · 18 November 2020]

Wow I am speechless... this movie flies under my radar for two years, I've only just watched them now and my expectation was blown out of the water. The story was very good, the setup in the future works wonder for the backdrop of this movie. The action was sooo well done and enjoyable, albeit a bit gory and bloody. Also Logan green marshall truly carry this movie, there will be no other actor so suited to this role, he made it his own, such underrated actor that will continue to surprised you. I didn't expect to love this movie so much but I do, it is rare to find an awesome and meaty science fiction these days. This movie was very well packaged, from the storyline, performances, action sequences, pacing and the plot twist, I thought I've guessed it but I've only guessed partially, also the ending, love it so much. Seriously folks, dont skip this one! You will be amazed!

The Adjustment Bureau (2011)

Love the chemistry!

[8/10 · 12 November 2020]

Bruh the chemistry between Matt damon & emily blunt is through the roof. Love love love how they're portraying these characters and the emotions they're conveying is uuuuhh heart clenching. *sigh* Never thought a day would come when I would sigh thinking about Matt damon. He's such a bae in this role.

Im not gonna get too far explaining the plot of this movie, its a romance mixed with science fiction, the two main characters are being kept apart because of the 'plan' and whatnot by the 'bureau/angel/mib'. I love the science fiction part and also love the romance part.

But the main pull in this movie was most definitely the two lead, big props once again for Matt damon & emily blunt.

The Invisible Guest (2016)

My brother thinks he can fooled me. Ha!

[7/10 · 10 November 2020]

Okay so I watched the invisible guest because my brother told me it was the best plot twist and that I wont see it coming. Yeah okay so I didnt immediately guessed it but guess what? I noticed that the lady lawyer and the mother are the same person, I mean, how come nobody saw this? I asked my brother about this and he fell silent LOL. And halfway through the movie, you can kinda see the plot twist coming.

I rarely venture out of english speaking movie, aside from asian movies, I could count by hand the number of foreign film I've watched before. Last time I watched 365dni and I regret it. But this movie was very good, the structure and the unreliable main character was the selling point here, the way they build the web of lies and the deconstructure of those lies are very compelling. To me, This wasnt a thriller movie, this played out more like a detective movie. Though from the title 'The Invisible Guest' I thought that this was a horror/ghost movie. And there are some moments where it feels a bit dragged out, I understand that it was to build tension and suspense but to me it was just a bit too long and unnecessary. The plot twist to me wasn't the revelation that our main character is fooled by the lady lawyer or that laura wasn't actually the mastermind behind it all but rather the fact that the young guy wasn't actually dead when he was about to be drowned. Now that is cold blooded. This moment right here was the true unmasking of a human nature, how low can you go to cover your tracks, even when you think you've hit your lowest point, the thing you tried to hide wasn't actually the worst thing that you could do. How far can you go? Apparently even further down.

Well, Expectations exceeded and this movie deserves major props. Most definitely would recommend this movie to other people.

At the end of the movie, gave myself a pat on the back and a note for myself to check more foreign movies from spain.

Possessor (2020)

Started out strong

[6/10 · 8 November 2020]

The movie is about implanting another person's consciousness into another person with the objective of killing without a trace. The main character named Tasya Vos, she's the top killer agent in her company. Not a lot went into her backstory, we do not know what was her motive or drive into doing this line of work, what we as the audience knew about Vos was that she started unraveling and became unstable at her job possibly due to many of possessing other person's body. But she hides this from her boss and continue with the next mission. This part of the movie, the introduction of our main character and the establishment of plot point was interesting. From the very opening act up until this point, the atmospheric feels is very thick, with jarring and eerie score. The cinematography and the coloring for this movie was briliantly done. The problem started with the second act, when Vos was implanted into the next target Tate. It got considerably slow and dull at times. It was so slow that it got tedious and dare I say boring. Although there is some great imaging sequence here and there, still the plot slowly advance. Also, going in from the very beginning, this movie wasnt shy about how explicit the violence could be, and yet I was caught off guard with how gory and violently violent THAT scene was. This scene was not for the faint hearted wimp like me. Until this scene then it dawned on me, this wasn't just a science fiction movie, this was a horror movie. The conclusion of the plot was... unsatisfactory? Also left me with more questions about Vos's motive, like what's her deal? WHY WAS SHE DOING THIS WORK? All in all, I hate the violent aspect of this movie, love the unsettling eerie atmosphere, love the premise, Love the first act. Especially love the performance as Tasya Vos, credit for the actress!

Will I recommend this movie to other people? Probably yes depend on the person, I could see this movie will not work for the general audiences as it could looked a lot like arthouse kind of movie. You know the trope : unneccesary explicit sex scenes, full nudity, some sort of existensial crisis, weird shot of something dissintegrated, very deliberately slow and long scenes, excessive violence, vague motives AND a must have in an Art house movie : vague ending.

Time Trap (2017)

Good enough

[6/10 · 8 November 2020]

This movie has a great premise and awesome take on the subject of time. Too bad the acting was decent at best and the CGI were rather distracting. But I was still entertained and it managed to hold my full attention enough to finished the movie. This is a solid B-movie, sometimes you gotta take a chance with a B-movie and this one paid off alright.

True Story (I) (2015)

A good crime thriller

[7/10 · 5 October 2020]

I've been reading a lot of reviews here talking about how this movie is basically a build up with no pay off. While I agree with the build up part, I might have to disagree with the latter. This is a true story about a disgraced top journalist who then will befriend an accused murderer. The journalist Mike, played by Jonah hill became intrigued when he finds out that Longo, played by James Franco has been using his name for an alias. The two meet up and Mike sensing a big story for his come back from disgrace, befriended Longo with the incentive of helping him with his writing. So then they would correspondence with each other but without ever establishing that Longo is guilty. Mike even think that he's innocent.

Things then took a turn when Longo pleads guilty to two counts of murders out of four counts, with the intention of manipulating the court. From this point on, this to me was the pay off. The moment Longo testifies about what happened on the night of the murders, we the viewers as well as our main character Mike, realised that we have been manipulated all along by Longo. All this time Mike has been teaching him about storytelling and Longo used that to his advantage. When Mike realised what's truly happening, Longo turned around to face mike. With a little shrug, a wink and a slight smile, he realized he was fooled, its like someone douse him with cold water, the realization is sobering. This was a very good scene, and to me, a pay off doesn't always have to be grand or climactic, a little moment like this could have just as much of a punch as a big moment.

I especially enjoyed the last 30 minutes of this movie. This movie is worth to watch if you enjoyed crime thriller.

In the Shadow of the Moon (2019)

Its a Science Fiction Movie

[6/10 · 4 October 2020]

Well I thought this was a crime thriller honestly. You wouldnt know this was a science fiction movie until halfway through the runtime.

Where to begin? It started with one night, on three different places and at the same time, three person suddenly bleeds brain matter out of their noses, mouths, ears and they died. It was disturbing but interesting, and thanks to this movie I will always know what a hollow head sounds like. That 'thunk-thunk' sounds. Chilling stuff.

It was then suggested as the work of a serial killer. Brilliant, it was an unseen method before and it was very intriguing. So many questions popped in my head, who did this? Was it a new type of poison? And most importantly, why?

And so the first 50 minutes of this movie was absolutely amazing, our main character is a police officer eager for promotion so he tries to solved this mystery and got pretty fast on tracking the killer, so a chasing scene ensue. The pacing was great, our attention was constantly kept on the screen, the chasing scene were good and the element of mystery was spot on.

That is until halfway through the movie *SPOILER ALERT* it was revealed that this is a time travel movie. A science fiction time travel. The killer was sent from the future every nine years to inject the victim with the isotopes that activates from the future. Why? Because the victims was a bunch of people who would cause the future civil war, and it was implied that race was the motivation for the civil war.

Now usually I do love time traveling movie, science fiction has always been one of my favorite genre of movies. Take example Looper. But this movie, it just detracts, they had a good momentum in the first 50 minutes, it was a great build up, great mystery and great pacing. A solid crime thriller. I get that they were probably trying something new here, but for me it just doesnt work.

Sum it up, Its a science fiction movie but the motives is not strong enough and not quiet befitting that of a science fiction.

And the revelation at the end, its uh not good. So our main character Lock knows why these people got killed. He knows why the killer killed them, and because he is a cop at heart, he is still bent on stopping her because killing is wrong. That is until she revealed that she was his grand daughter. No moral dilemma whatsoever, Lock just stopped pursuing her. So he straighten up and got his life back together to then nurture the killer. Wow, I didnt realize how much I did not like this ending until I write this. Sigh.

Solid first 50 minutes, really enjoying that part, and another good thing in this movie is Boyd Holbrook's performance. He was good in this, I've always thought of him as another pretty face actor who gets by with his looks but he proved me wrong here. He gave a nuanced performance, portraying a man on the fringe barely holding on, the only thing that keeps him going was his obssesions. So kudos to the moviemaker for casting Boyd. Looking forward to see him in future projects.

The Witches (1990)

Apparently this gets a remake

[6/10 · 4 October 2020]

I was around 8 when I accidentally came across this movie while browsing HBO all by myself at midnight. And I remember thinking heh this wasnt so bad, at that times I've never watched any movies about witches so naturally Im intrigued. I thought to myself this wasnt a horror movie, there are no ghost, I should be fine (while glancing at the clock which shows its 12.10, It was holiday season, so I was sleeping late). I also remember thinking wow this movie was kind of funny with the kids turned into mouse and trying to scheme their way round the witches. I was peachy, until the scene with all the witches removes their disguises and let me tell you, the kid me was frighthened, their makeup was truly horrifying and nightmare inducing. I legit got scared and almost turned off the TV but instead I soldiered on, convincing myself that it wasnt so bad. And im glad when I finished it, its pretty good, almost smug at myself for finishing a scary movie at midnight all by myself.

This movie, no matter how ridiculous the plot was, managed to captured the attention of 8 years old me where my interests at that time were pokemon and sailor moon and despite only watching this only one time, it stays with me. I would think of this movie once in a while later on and thought that maybe this was a small independence movie that not many people knew about, I dont even know what the title was. So imagined my surprise when I saw the new trailer for The Witches starring anne hathaway, octavia spencer and stanley tucci! I genuinely thought that Hey! They plagiarized that old movie! But apparently the OG movie was a well known and had a cult following.

I dont really know what is it about this movie that has such lasting impressions for me that I can remember it clearly even if I've only watched them one time, maybe its the story, maybe its the talking rats, maybe its the harrowing make up, maybe its all of them. Its a weird cocktail of a movie, its a kid's movie, its s family movie, its a horror movie but also it's a comedy movie.

Ps. I also remember that I truly salivating with the cress soup scene. They seemed so appetizing at midnight and everyone seemed so engrossed in eating them LOL.

Ava (IV) (2020)

Did jessica chastain & john malkovich shorts on cash?

[5/10 · 20 September 2020]

Seriously why though? Why did this movie has so many good actors playing in it? This is one of those female contract killer we've seen plenty of times in hollywood, like Salt and Anna. They all pretty much rely on a same trope which is contract killer wanted out and got chased by their own boss. The thing is, unlike Ava, Salt and Anna have interesting thing going on for them, they had meaty backstory, interesting characters, great plot and satisfactory conclusion.

The only good thing about Ava is the opening scene with Jessica chastain and Ioan grufford, an assassin asking her target why they were targeted, it was interesting, it tells us the audience that perhaps the assassin grew conscience about what they were doing. But no, she was just asking so that her boss getting pissed and wanted to kill her.

The main character, Ava, was so unlikeable. She's poorly written , there's nothing that made me connect or sympathized with her. This movie adds so many unnecessary things and hoping it would make a good plot. An alcoholic, troubled family, love triangle between twin sisters, mafia boss, etc. They wanted this movie to be more than your regular assassin movie, they wanted drama and instead this movie plays more like a TV movie drama.

The performance is nothing spectacular, nothing that stands out. The action scene was also just your run of the mill fighting, even seems terrible sometimes, which in my opinion is a CRIME in an assassin movie, you have to HAVE great fighting scene/action sequences. The ending was terrible. One of the saving grace of this movie is the score, my god they were so good it made me finished watching this just so I could listen to all of it.