In this edition of Additional Bite-Sized Reviews, I give you my thoughts on 1) Mel Gibson’s final appearance as Mad Max, 2) one of last year’s best documentaries, 3) last year’s much-discussed historical epic from Ridley Scott, 4) Danny Boyle’s directorial debut, and 5) a horror comedy cult classic.
Continue reading “‘Napoleon,’ ‘Beyond Utopia,’ and More | Bite-Sized Reviews”
Directed by Gareth Edwards — Screenplay by Gareth Edwards and Chris Weitz.
Gareth Edwards’ The Creator was originally released back in late September of 2023, but, in spite of it once being one of my most anticipated films of 2023, I didn’t end up seeing it until January of 2024. In fact, it was the very first film that I saw in 2024. Why did I wait for the VOD release? Well, frankly, the marketing controversy rubbed me the wrong way (one of the trailers used footage from a real-life tragedy as a visual effects plate shot). The film’s director later revealed that the shot wasn’t actually in the film, and, when I eventually sat down to watch the film, I will admit that I actually really liked what I saw. Ultimately, I am firmly in the ‘The Creator is good actually’ club. Frankly, it might be my favorite film that director Gareth Edwards has made thus far, despite the fact that his oeuvre also includes two fairly well-received sci-fi franchise films from universes that I generally enjoy.
Continue reading “The Creator (2023) | REVIEW”
In this edition of my recurring movie and television catch-up article series titled ‘Additional Bite-Sized Reviews,’ I take a look back at the first half of the year to discuss some of the new shows that I’ve really enjoyed this year, but that I didn’t have the time to review. I think all of the shows in this article are good, but which of these shows do you absolutely have to put on your watchlist? Well, let’s have a look.
Continue reading “Bite-Sized Reviews: First Half of 2022 – Must-See TV?”
The following is a review of Godzilla II: King of the Monsters — Directed by Michael Dougherty.
I can’t say that I’m a big Godzilla expert. I’m what you would call a casual fan of the kaiju films. And when it’ll come to King Kong versus Godzilla in a few years, I’ll probably be on the side of the iconic ape. But that’s neither here nor there. I remember watching Emmerich’s Godzilla from 1998 when I was a kid (I don’t think I’ve seen it since), and I remember watching Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla from 2014 in the theater with my mother and my sister. I have no problem admitting that I was one of those people who was frustrated greatly by Edwards’ film which did, admittedly, give us these amazing visuals, but which suffered from the eponymous monster’s disappointing screen-time. With King of the Monsters, the kaiju-titan focused ‘monster-verse’ is course-correcting their approach to Godzilla, but, in doing so, they’ve unfortunately saddled a spectacular monster movie with thinly written characters and poor dialogue. Continue reading “REVIEW: Godzilla II: King of the Monsters (2019)”
The following is a review of Pokémon – Detective Pikachu — Directed by Rob Letterman.
There are going to be plenty of reviews out there that come from the perspective of someone who knows nothing or very little about the world of Pokémon. But that isn’t my perspective. That isn’t my review. For as long as I can remember, Pokémon has been a part of my life. I’ve played and replayed the games, I’ve had tons of trading cards, and I loved to watch the anime with my sister. For this reason, I want this review to be playful with these little references and inside jokes. So, if you’ll indulge me, then please read along.
Pokémon was a huge part of my childhood, and, with that in mind, I have to say that even though Detective Pikachu didn’t rock my world, I thought it was a very enjoyable but safe start to a live-action North American series. I have a lot of issues with the film, but I’m surprised this film works as well as it does. It isn’t perfect, but it’s more than enough for me as a starting point for a live-action film series. Continue reading “REVIEW: Pokémon – Detective Pikachu (2019)”
I'm Jeffrey Rex 