This is probably my favorite series of the 2010s, despite my blanket distaste for nostalgic reboots. Part of the appeal is that it uses the flaws of the 1984 movie to its advantage. Even though 'The Karate Kid' was written as a simple morality tale about a working class transfer student defending himself against a rich bully, a popular Youtube video from 2015 made a comical (but persuasive!) case that our boy Daniel-san was actually always the one picking those fights with Johnny. I assume it's not coincidental then that Cobra Kai debuted on Youtube several years later, running with this revisionist take: presenting the adult Johnny as a sympathetic blue collar underdog, and Daniel as a frequently insufferable, rich asshole.
But the show does better than a simple role reversal, developing both of these characters (and many in the large ensemble cast) far more than the uni-dimensional portrayals in the original movies. The show frequently and deliberately upsets your instincts to pigeon hole and "pick sides" (although by the end of season 4 the formula is beginning to show signs of wear, as previous "bad guys" are cyclically redeemed and new "real" bad guys are introduced to fuel additional seasons).
The show is also a satisfying love note to the fun ridiculousness of 1980s popculture and its self-parodic brand of masculinity: from pro-wrestling to hard rock to... well, martial arts. In fact the largest hero-to-villain twist of the series is probably karate itself, as even "self-defensive" Miyagi fighting -- like guns and war and other dubious instruments of peace -- often just ends up leading to more violence.
Don't know what the Adams' books are like but this feels like a live action 'Baccano!', with an overstuffed ensemble cast of zany characters bouncing off one another as they scramble around for who knows what. It's fun!
The Matrix 4 is about as bad as you would predict from the decline in quality between the first three movies. This also allows us to confidently extrapolate that any further attempts on this franchise will be 'Baby Geniuses 2' tier horseshit.
This didn't really go in the direction I wanted it to go, but I was kind of vibing with the first half that felt like a lost 90s Neil LaBute screenplay with a tense horror soundtrack.
After the first "act" I really thought this movie was going to be taking us down a rabbit hole of Rick and Morty style multiverse mindfuks, but then... nope. Just poor pacing, illogical script choices, and weird plot holes.
Should have stuck with the new main character instead of abandoning the promising plot with his double and just going back to Tree.
Having three Oscar winning actresses as leads is already a uniquely stellar ensemble cast, even for a movie, much a less a TV series, but then if you stick around for the second season they add in fucking Meryl Streep.
It doesn't go unrewarded; this series is full of so much stand-out performance energy; it literally might be the most female acting talent ever crammed into one film.
It's unusual for sequels to have higher reputations than originals. Having now watched both, here's my 2 cents: the first one is better and undervalued. Smaller, breezier, funnier, sweeter, better aesthetics. No uncomfortable prison euphemisms. No weird Hitler mustache-type jokes. Also the core Brown family characters are mostly pushed aside in this for a more expansive story that neither the CGI budget or running time can accomodate.
I will admit though, that the pop-up book scene is the best of either movie.
The humor consistently lands (as does the heart), good performances, beautiful production design, and cool calypso. It is also virtuous in tone and themes, lacking the hip cynicism of many similar efforts. A model family movie.
If Rogers was still alive the misanthropic journalist would just goad the gentle old minister into saying something skeptical about "trans bodies" or some such freshly-minted Woke taboo and his show would get insta-canceled, Taco Bell and Reebok would get their kewl corporate pot-shots in on social media ("Can you say... bigot!"), and the journalist would win a Pulitzer.
Now THAT movie might be worth watching. This was Hallmark Channel tier treacle.
Looks like we have a ... "dreigänger" with The Double (2013) and Enemy (2013).
And I'm starting to understand the rules. First of all the origin of duplicates can never be explained. Aliens? Robots? That sci-fi bullshit doesn't apply to this sophisticated genre... don't be a plebe. Or go watch Orphan Black (2013), low-concept TV clone-trend fiction. SMDH.
Second, your exact duplicate won't like you and will be much more confident and dominant than you. Again, don't ask why. And you better be vigilant or he WILL fuck your woman.
I've seen a number of reviewers compare this to 'Cube,' but I suspect its most direct inspiration was the absurdist Denis Villeneuve short 'Next Floor' (2008).
Elton John is an unreliable narrator within the story (comically lying to his support group) but also, less forgivably, in the biographical story itself, with almost everyone in Mr. Hercules' life a little too blatantly contrived as loveless monsters. I'd hesitate saying this drama-queenin' feels stereotypically gay, but stereotypically gay is kind of Elton John's whole schtick. It's the narrative equivalent of "committing suicide" by overdosing on pills and jumping into the pool at a crowded party. Look at me! Feel sorry for me!!
I don't know if I should appreciate that on some meta level, but disingenuous art is also hard to like.
Shojiro Nishimi is (sadly) one of the only Japanese "anime" artists with his own enjoyably unique style of character design and animation. (as seen in 'Mind Game' and 'Tekkonkinkreet').
So this movie has a lot of style and its both fun and fun to look at. The gonzo Hip Hop graphic novel style really feels like they got the jump on 'Into the Spider-Verse (2018)'.
Unfortunately, unlike Spiderverse and the two wonderful Nishimi films listed above, MFKZ has a pretty basic action movie plot. Its big-budget, mainstream US doppelganger actually hit more of a homerun by being visually creative AND having a creative story AND having a solid emotional core.
Comments 26 - 50 of 600
Movie comment on Cobra Kai
greenhorg
This is probably my favorite series of the 2010s, despite my blanket distaste for nostalgic reboots. Part of the appeal is that it uses the flaws of the 1984 movie to its advantage. Even though 'The Karate Kid' was written as a simple morality tale about a working class transfer student defending himself against a rich bully, a popular Youtube video from 2015 made a comical (but persuasive!) case that our boy Daniel-san was actually always the one picking those fights with Johnny. I assume it's not coincidental then that Cobra Kai debuted on Youtube several years later, running with this revisionist take: presenting the adult Johnny as a sympathetic blue collar underdog, and Daniel as a frequently insufferable, rich asshole.But the show does better than a simple role reversal, developing both of these characters (and many in the large ensemble cast) far more than the uni-dimensional portrayals in the original movies. The show frequently and deliberately upsets your instincts to pigeon hole and "pick sides" (although by the end of season 4 the formula is beginning to show signs of wear, as previous "bad guys" are cyclically redeemed and new "real" bad guys are introduced to fuel additional seasons).
The show is also a satisfying love note to the fun ridiculousness of 1980s popculture and its self-parodic brand of masculinity: from pro-wrestling to hard rock to... well, martial arts. In fact the largest hero-to-villain twist of the series is probably karate itself, as even "self-defensive" Miyagi fighting -- like guns and war and other dubious instruments of peace -- often just ends up leading to more violence.
Movie comment on Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency
greenhorg
Don't know what the Adams' books are like but this feels like a live action 'Baccano!', with an overstuffed ensemble cast of zany characters bouncing off one another as they scramble around for who knows what. It's fun!Movie comment on Don't Look Up
greenhorg
Is this the movie where Bob Dylan gets stabbed by a midget?Movie comment on The Matrix Resurrections
greenhorg
The Matrix 4 is about as bad as you would predict from the decline in quality between the first three movies. This also allows us to confidently extrapolate that any further attempts on this franchise will be 'Baby Geniuses 2' tier horseshit.Movie comment on Queen of Earth
greenhorg
This didn't really go in the direction I wanted it to go, but I was kind of vibing with the first half that felt like a lost 90s Neil LaBute screenplay with a tense horror soundtrack.Movie comment on Happy Death Day 2U
greenhorg
After the first "act" I really thought this movie was going to be taking us down a rabbit hole of Rick and Morty style multiverse mindfuks, but then... nope. Just poor pacing, illogical script choices, and weird plot holes.Should have stuck with the new main character instead of abandoning the promising plot with his double and just going back to Tree.
Movie comment on One from the Heart
greenhorg
Eye candy direction by Coppola (in full Orson Welles mode) and a great Tom Waits soundtrack. Awful screenplay.In other words a good longform music video, but I wish there were real characters and a story to inhabit it all.
Movie comment on Greener Grass
greenhorg
I already watched Beverly Luff Linn last year and this Adult Swim humor gets stale fast. It peaked with Tim & Eric and even that peak was pretty low.Movie comment on Mid90s
greenhorg
This really feels like someone watched Kids (1995) and then made a movie.Movie comment on Big Little Lies
greenhorg
Having three Oscar winning actresses as leads is already a uniquely stellar ensemble cast, even for a movie, much a less a TV series, but then if you stick around for the second season they add in fucking Meryl Streep.It doesn't go unrewarded; this series is full of so much stand-out performance energy; it literally might be the most female acting talent ever crammed into one film.
Movie comment on Suture
greenhorg
Comes off as a film school graduate Teshigahara knockoff. I'd say just watch The Face of Another.Movie comment on Paddington 2
greenhorg
It's unusual for sequels to have higher reputations than originals. Having now watched both, here's my 2 cents: the first one is better and undervalued. Smaller, breezier, funnier, sweeter, better aesthetics. No uncomfortable prison euphemisms. No weird Hitler mustache-type jokes. Also the core Brown family characters are mostly pushed aside in this for a more expansive story that neither the CGI budget or running time can accomodate.I will admit though, that the pop-up book scene is the best of either movie.
Movie comment on Paddington
greenhorg
The humor consistently lands (as does the heart), good performances, beautiful production design, and cool calypso. It is also virtuous in tone and themes, lacking the hip cynicism of many similar efforts. A model family movie.Movie comment on Fido
greenhorg
I can't believe 'The Shape of Water' got the Oscar for plagiarizing this.Movie comment on Frankenstein
greenhorg
"Instead of a perfect human being the evil in Frankenstein's mind creates a monster"Maybe you should read the damn book!
You guy who made this 110 year old film who is certainly dead.
Movie comment on Tenet
greenhorg
Imagine catching covid because you just had to go out and see this.Movie comment on Ruben Brandt, a gyujto
greenhorg
A badly written and disappointingly basic heist movie elevated by clever touches and an intriguing modern art visual style. A mixed bag.Movie comment on Legends of the Fall
greenhorg
What is this grocery store romance novel doing on my television screen, and how did they animate the Fabio from the cover to seem so life-like?Movie comment on A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
greenhorg
If Rogers was still alive the misanthropic journalist would just goad the gentle old minister into saying something skeptical about "trans bodies" or some such freshly-minted Woke taboo and his show would get insta-canceled, Taco Bell and Reebok would get their kewl corporate pot-shots in on social media ("Can you say... bigot!"), and the journalist would win a Pulitzer.Now THAT movie might be worth watching. This was Hallmark Channel tier treacle.
Movie comment on The One I Love
greenhorg
Looks like we have a ... "dreigänger" with The Double (2013) and Enemy (2013).And I'm starting to understand the rules. First of all the origin of duplicates can never be explained. Aliens? Robots? That sci-fi bullshit doesn't apply to this sophisticated genre... don't be a plebe. Or go watch Orphan Black (2013), low-concept TV clone-trend fiction. SMDH.
Second, your exact duplicate won't like you and will be much more confident and dominant than you. Again, don't ask why. And you better be vigilant or he WILL fuck your woman.
Movie comment on El hoyo
greenhorg
I've seen a number of reviewers compare this to 'Cube,' but I suspect its most direct inspiration was the absurdist Denis Villeneuve short 'Next Floor' (2008).Movie comment on Rocketman
greenhorg
Elton John is an unreliable narrator within the story (comically lying to his support group) but also, less forgivably, in the biographical story itself, with almost everyone in Mr. Hercules' life a little too blatantly contrived as loveless monsters. I'd hesitate saying this drama-queenin' feels stereotypically gay, but stereotypically gay is kind of Elton John's whole schtick. It's the narrative equivalent of "committing suicide" by overdosing on pills and jumping into the pool at a crowded party. Look at me! Feel sorry for me!!I don't know if I should appreciate that on some meta level, but disingenuous art is also hard to like.
Movie comment on Jojo Rabbit
greenhorg
"Nazis are a-holes.... but they're so cute when they're little."- Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic (2005)
Movie comment on Mutafukaz
greenhorg
Shojiro Nishimi is (sadly) one of the only Japanese "anime" artists with his own enjoyably unique style of character design and animation. (as seen in 'Mind Game' and 'Tekkonkinkreet').So this movie has a lot of style and its both fun and fun to look at. The gonzo Hip Hop graphic novel style really feels like they got the jump on 'Into the Spider-Verse (2018)'.
Unfortunately, unlike Spiderverse and the two wonderful Nishimi films listed above, MFKZ has a pretty basic action movie plot. Its big-budget, mainstream US doppelganger actually hit more of a homerun by being visually creative AND having a creative story AND having a solid emotional core.
Movie comment on Trudno byt bogom
greenhorg
Nasty, brutish, and long.Showing items 26 – 50 of 600