akain8033 Reviews

Lingo (2023– )

Luck has everything to do with it

[4/10 · 22 February 2023]

As a Wordle fanatic, I was looking forward to this show's re-up and even considering filling out an application with one of my co-workers who is also a big fan of word-based brain games. However, the producers have taken all of the air out of the balloon with this poorly designed presentation. By super-sizing the reward for the final question, they essentially nullify any money earned throughout the majority of the game. The way the game is setup, it virtually doesn't matter how well you do until the final question which is pretty much a winner-take-all scenario where whoever has the quickest trigger wins. One pair of contestants was up $9,500 going into the final question which is worth $10,000. The final question was very easy. Both teams buzzed in quickly, but the team that was losing was a split-second quicker so they moved on to the finals. By doing this, you essentially tell the teams that were better the entire game that nothing they did mattered.

Unfortunately, Lingo fails to offer an enjoyable experience and will likely go the way of its previous iterations.

Inglourious Basterds (2009)

Don't believe the hype

[8/10 · 9 September 2009]

Some of you reading this may think I'm contradicting myself with my title and my rating, but do keep in mind that while I'm writing this the average weighted vote of every IMDb user who has seen this is 8.6/10 thus placing it in the top 50 of all major films of all time. Let me just say that I did enjoy this film quite a bit. If movies like this were nominated for Academy Awards Brad Pitt should be the frontrunner for best actor. The rest of the cast did a tremendous job as well and the story was good enough to keep me enthralled throughout the entire 2 1/2 hours of the film. That said, the reason I tell you don't believe the hype is that this movie tries to be too many different things at once. It doesn't give the audience enough of one or the other to really satisfy/sell them on whether this should be a comedy or an action film. If you take Brad Pitt out of the picture then the movie may have one or two jokes throughout the entire film. And if you take out even just one fight scene then it could hardly be called an action movie. The story just isn't good enough to overpower those flaws to deem Inglorious Bastards as one of the greatest films of all time. To say it's better than a film like V for Vendetta or Snatch is just absurd. I mean maybe it's just me but I honestly don't think I'm alone on this. By the way I was fine with the whole "let's completely rewrite history and kill Hitler" thing. I thought it was pretty cool actually.

The Forbidden Kingdom (2008)

Good comedy/kung fu flick

[7/10 · 20 April 2008]

I had some pretty high expectations going into this movie. Knowing Jackie Chan and Jet Li were finally going to be going at it together on the big screen was an awesome feeling. The Forbidden Kingdom is really funny. I had no idea it was even going to be a comedy until I saw it. The fight scenes were AMAZING! Jackie and Jet did spectacular acting jobs. Some of the best stuff I've seen in awhile. The worst thing about the movie was the story. It was awful. It was one of the stupidest movies I have ever seen. If it wasn't for the fight scenes and the great acting this would be one of the worst movies ever. If you like kung fu, you should like this film.

Untold Scandal (2003)

Good film adaptation, but...

[7/10 · 18 November 2007]

I enjoyed this film very much, but I personally feel that the modern American version, Cruel Intentions, is a better movie. I will say that this is a biased review. Mainly because I'm a white American. As for the movie itself, I'd have to say it was worth my time. I got a very different perspective on the storyline. The major difference for me is that I could not sympathize for Cho in the end as much as I did for Sebastian in Cruel Intentions. It's most likely the fact that I don't speak Korean and had to rely on my friend when I was confused about what was going on. Overall this is a film well worth anyone's time to watch (as long as you speak Korean, or have someone to watch it with you who is Korean).

Oldboy (2003)

Great, yet graphic, film

[9/10 · 18 November 2007]

This is an amazing film. I have to say though, if you are American and don't speak Korean, than it is crucial that you watch this with someone who is. I know I wouldn't have been able to understand a lot of the subtleties if it wasn't for my friend having to pause the movie occasionally to tell me what just happened. This is a very disturbing film at times and I probably cringed enough for my liking. I'd have to say that its strongest points were the acting and the script. Every character was utterly believable. Especially the main character, Oh Deseau. I have rarely sympathized for a character in a movie as much as I did for him. 15 years? That's ridiculous. As far as the script goes...wow. It's probably one of the best scripts ever written in the history of film. And the ending is just too much. If you had to compare it to anything else I'd say that it's a lot like Audition meets Seven. I highly recommend this film to anyone with a strong stomach who loves thrillers and surprises.

The Departed (2006)

Best film of the year, bar none.

[9/10 · 6 October 2006]

The Departed is one of the best movies I have ever seen in my entire life. It is the only mob movie that I can say rivals The Godfather. After seeing the film all I could think of when I walked out of that theater was "wow". The acting was top notch. Every single person made me believe fully in their character's whole essence. Of course the directing by THE Martin Scorsese was superb. He throws more curves at you than Phil Niekro. And if you love fantastic endings then this one astonish and impassion you. This is without-a-doubt his best, most appealing movie ever, even with the considerations of Taxi Driver and GoodFellas. You have the freedom to agree or not agree with me on this but as long as you enjoy the movie like you will, I don't care. (Always remember, X marks the dead)