ommik Reviews

Talk to Me (I) (2022)

I don't get the hype

[4/10 · 8 December 2023]

I admit that this is slightly above average when it comes to standard supernatural teenage horror movies. The vibe in the beginning is pretty creepy and morbidly fun.. but at the end the movie doesn't serve us with anything we haven't seen a thousand times before.

It's not a bad teenage horror flick per se, but when considering all the hype this movie has gotten.. it's very STANDARD.

The story is predictable af, the plot choices are very clichéd, we don't learn ANYTHING about the creepy hand or it's mythos (which is the most interesting thing here)... it's just a run of the mill chick-going-crazy-or-is-she teenage horror movie.

Not that bad if you're not excepting anything, but far from a modern horror classic that it's dubbed to be.

Mandrake (2022)

Great gritty folk horror!

[8/10 · 20 August 2023]

I was pleasantly surprised by this movie! I liked how it was gritty, straight-forward, and quite unpredictable... yet at it's core it was a traditional folk horror witch tale.

What I enjoyed the most was that the movie didn't resort to the tired ambiguous "am I going crazy" quasi-psychological trope, but the witchcraft and the supernatural were presented at face value (which I find a rare treat nowadays). Also the brutality of the townfolk was presented well, and made me kind of root for Bloody Mary.

The ending could have been better thought out of and more imaginative, but I wasn't mad at it. Now it was more like this basic open horror ending.

I recommend this for anyone who loves witch movies!

Aikuiset (2019–2022)

Starts off great, but...

[5/10 · 30 October 2022]

The first season is very funny and satirical of the 'Kallio hipster' stereotypes.

However, already during the second season the show starts to turn into what it's parodizing, and by the third season there's no comedy really... just pretentious and repetitive relationship storylines.

I found the third season very heavy, slow and boring to watch... just opposite to the first season which I binged in couple of days. Probably not going to tune in for the fourth season.

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Derry Girls (2018–2022)

Great first season, then a downward spiral

[7/10 · 30 October 2022]

The first season is amazing; it's funny and moving, the acting and characters are great, and the overall vibe is just spot on!

The second season is still relatively good, tho it looses some of the appeal and edge of the first one. There are still some funny moments and I find most of the characters still engaging.

However, the third season is absolutely nonsensical and unfunny. Also, there are very little heartfelt moments too. There's a lot of fuss and a lot of dialogue, but none of it is funny to me. It's like the show totally lost its' heart and became a parody of itself.

First season: 9/10, Second season: 7/10, Third season: 5/10... possible fourth season: not interested.

Hatching (2022)

Not bad, but doesn't really take off

[5/10 · 14 August 2022]

I really wanted to like this movie since Finnish horror movies are a rare treat, especially body horror like this.

Even if the movie had a darkly funny and creepy feel in the beginning, it didn't develop into anything special. I think all of the characters were somehow underdeveloped, and also the very generic allegory of puberty was shoved in the face a bit too much.

I'm giving the movie an A for effort and acting, but the characters and the story fell short for me.

Prey (I) (2022)

Simple but effective!

[8/10 · 9 August 2022]

I think this was one of the best action movies I've seen in years, and by far the best entry to the Predator franchise since the original!

I liked how things were kept simple and dynamic (like in the original), and that the runtime wasn't your now typical +2½ hours. The historical setting was intriguing, and also the story and acting were decent!

Wouldn't call this a masterpiece, but it is a solid good movie!

Drag Race Holland (2020–2021)

Great queens, horrible judging

[2/10 · 30 July 2022]

I really love the Dutch queens on both seasons, but the judging is just nuts and awful. It seems none of the judges have ever seen a drag show. Also, Nikkie Plessen was by far the worst permanent judge and Fred the most annoying host.

It seems they tried to make some improvements for season 2, but it still fell short. Too bad, this had promise but ended up a dumpster fire.

Hellbender (2021)

Decent indie horror!

[6/10 · 27 May 2022]

I knew almost nothing about this movie, but I'm a huge fan of witchcraft related movies.. so I decided to give this a watch!

The premise and themes are more or less standard for such horror movies (growing up, isolation, family issues), but they were handled well and the actors did a good job also. The visuals and overall mood were bleak and appropriate, and I liked the music also. The movie had some kind of cool 90's vibe to it.

What I did NOT enjoy was the ending that felt a bit lackluster and "basic", as I wished it would've been something wilder or unexpected. Overalll, a good indie flick tho!

The Northman (2022)

A Huge Disappointment

[2/10 · 27 May 2022]

I had high hopes of this movie due to Eggers directing it, but no... this was a total snoozefest.

I was expecting some type of hallucinatory big budget viking epoch with some deep metaphorical content, but instead it was a very straight-forward and predictable revenge fantasy! The acting was mediocre, the score was mediocre, the story was mediocre, only the visuals were impressive... but they didn't save much. I agree with what someone else wrote in their review that I would've been better off watching "Conan."

"Valhalla Rising" is still THE viking movie for me.

Raised by Wolves (2020–2022)

The second season ruined everything

[4/10 · 19 March 2022]

I absolutely loved the first season, even the extremely weird ending with the snake baby and all. I was super excited about season 2, and I liked it in the beginning... but it soon turned very soapy and ridiculous.

In season 2 there were too many irrelevant subplots and the main story was also nonsensical with all the crazy twists and turns (random alliances, etc.) Tho I still kind of enjoyed the gnostic themes. Like someone else wrote in their review, the second season feels like an R-rated 'Lost In Space'

I'm pretty sure I won't be tuning in for season 3. Meh.

RuPaul's Drag Race UK vs the World (2022– )

Cursed

[1/10 · 3 March 2022]

Maybe the worst DR season since Down Under. This all feels so forced and rigged, it's like no one even cares anymore. Could be called UK vs. US. Sorry, your review is too short. It needs to contain at least 150 characters.

Once Upon a Time in the North (2012)

High production value, but ultimately just a cheesefest

[2/10 · 14 October 2021]

The production value is high and the movie looks good and expensive, but the story is absolute snooze. Also the acting is not that great, tho practically everyone in it are Finnish A-list actors. I guess they were going for a Finnish revisionist western, but it didn´t work at all.

Candyman (2021)

Would've been better as an article

[3/10 · 14 October 2021]

I'm not joking in the headline; the movie would have been better as an article on how the Candyman mythos relates to BLM, rather than as an actual movie. I'm down with the message, but the movie itself isn't very entertaining or interesting.. instead it's boring, preachy, cliched and doesn't have any of the magic of the original.

Squid Game (2021– )

Good, but not great

[6/10 · 14 October 2021]

I really loved the first few episodes, but soon the magic started waning for me. There were too many predictable and pointless subplots, and the level of melodrama started to get too high for my taste. Also, there were a couple of outrageously homophobic moments.

All in all; the show was okay and I somewhat enjoyed it, but expected much more based on all the hype.

The Entity (1982)

Weird and creepy

[7/10 · 2 May 2021]

I saw this as kid in the late 80s and I was absolutely terrified. I´ve been planning to rewatch this for years now and finally came around to do it.

The movie didn´t feel that scary at all... however, the visual style and atmosphere are still very creepy and (for a lack for a better word) weird. The camera angles are often tilted and there are a lot of intense close-ups, and I think this all adds up to a claustrophobic voyeur feeling. The movie somehow even feels a bit documentary-like. Also, all the talk about sensitive sexual trauma (etc) adds to the oppressive feeling.

I can´t say whether I liked this or not, but it yeah.. I understand why I found it so scary.

The New Pope (2020)

Disappointing (at least compared to The Young Pope)

[5/10 · 5 February 2020]

I absolutely loved The Young Pope, but this second show/season feels completely forced, pretentious and soapy. The aesthetic is still amazing, but there's not much more here as the story is complete mess. Still kind of entertaining, but I wish they would've kept with one season/show.

Stupid Young Heart (2018)

Run of the mill gritty Finnish drama

[3/10 · 12 January 2020]

The good thing about this movie is that it looks and feels realistic. The bad side is that it's very basic and predictable when it tries to touch every possible social problem. If you're interested in gritty side of Helsinki, I'd recommend a documentary like Hilton!

Aniara (2018)

Had potential, but ultimately quite disappointing

[4/10 · 7 December 2019]

The premise was interesting and promising; I especially liked the idea of a commercial "tourist ferry mass cruise" to space and the Solaris-esque Mima.

However, the story was very disjointed and made little sense or emotional impact. Despite the few interesting elements the movie was a hodge podge of sex scenes and madness for the sake of edginess, and some soap opera level romance.

I haven't read the poem, so I this is not a comparison. But at least the this sparked my curiosity to check out the poem.

The Lighthouse (I) (2019)

Good but not great

[7/10 · 18 November 2019]

The movie was very metaphorical and funny in a vulgar way (which I both liked). Also the acting was excellent, especially Dafoe!

However, the movie didn't blow my mind. The story and the metaphor behind were a bit basic, and I think there was maybe a bit too much madness and too little mystery.

Good movie anyway, and definitely worth watching!

Dogs Don't Wear Pants (2019)

Not bad, but nothing special

[4/10 · 4 November 2019]

I kind of wanted to like this movie; it's stylish, brutal and occasionally funny.

However, the story and the characters were very lackluster. Especially the backstory of the drowning wife felt bit lazy for me; why do you need to explain someone's kink with a trauma?

Worth a watch tho, if you're interested in the subject matter.

Wind River (2017)

Ok, but a bit disappointing

[4/10 · 21 October 2019]

I liked the touching theme, mood and style of the movie.

However, I think the story wasn't told in a very compelling way.I especially didn't enjoy the out-of-the-blue flashback scene suddenly explaining the mystery and the action movie shootout.

I would've preferred if the movie had kept it slow and haunting atmosphere until the end. Not a bad movie, but I feel it had a lot of wasted potential.

Ad Astra (2019)

Had potential

[6/10 · 21 October 2019]

I loved the bleak (and maybe realistic) vision of the future of space travel, and the overall theme of looking for something greater than oneself that really dosen't exist (ETs/Father/Truth/God, etc).

But, and it's a huge but... after Brad Pitt sneaks into the rocket on Mars, it's all sentimental and unrealistic downhill from there.

Ma (I) (2019)

Fun and unexpected, but I was expecting something wilder

[6/10 · 23 August 2019]

I liked 'Ma' since it was offering something unexpected in the teen thriller genre and it had a quirky/creepy feel. BUT I was still expecting something weirder and wilder story-wise. Now the story was pretty straight-forward and there were no real surprises. Still worth a watch tho!

Skin (V) (2018)

Not bad, but only interesting because it's a true story

[4/10 · 23 August 2019]

I was quite excited to see this movie since I'm very much interested in all kinds of fringe movements. However, the wasn't anything special and I feel like I've seen it before. It is moderately interesting, but only because it's a true story and was realistic. Also, this felt tad too long.

Russian Doll (2019–2022)

Fun, smart, touching!

[8/10 · 18 August 2019]

I generally dislike movies and shows dealing with time travel and/or time loops... for me, they feel somehow messy, repetitive and pretentious. This being said, Russian Doll is amazing! It's rare that an existential mystery can also be funny and, in a way, light-hearted. Recommended!