I’ve never played any of the Mortal Kombat games before, so I’m actually not entirely sure if fans of the game were in love with this movie or not. From my perspective, it could have been so much better for what it was trying to be.
This movie has some bright spots: mainly, Kano, Scorpion, and Sub-Zero. Everyone else kind of sucks, especially Liu Kang. This movie also does one of the things I hate most when it comes to adapting a popular franchise onto the big screen: using a brand new character absolutely no one cares about as the surrogate audience member that learns about the world of the game. It’s 2021 guys, we don’t have to use this trope anymore. I think we can just use the pre-established characters and have even better world-building, and introduce everything in an even more compelling way than having the main character go “huh?” at everything. There’s a lot of explaining and hand-holding in this film which I get is somewhat necessary because the story of the film is just nonsense, but there’s got to be a better way. The main character is largely uninteresting, and it’s clear everyone just wants to see the characters that people know and love fight each other.
Since I’m not really largely invested in the franchise, it doesn’t matter too much either way for me, but that’s just one of many Hollywood tropes that I hate to see. Another is poorly edited fight scenes. If the fights aren’t being heavily cut up with random edits, they’re pretty slow. This film has Joe Taslim! It has Hiroyuki Sanada! Why are we doing them such a disservice with poorly filmed action scenes? That was the one thing this film had to get right, and it didn’t. Well, I suppose that’s not true, because they definitely got the fatalities right. That was cool to see.
At the end of the day, I’m guessing this film is probably more rewarding if you’re a fan of the franchise, and mildly interesting if you don’t know anything about it. Maybe they can hire a more competent director the next time around, because if the sequel to this film is of similar quality then I think that’d just be disappointing for everyone.
I love Anna Kendrick. I’ve loved her in Up in the Air, and 50/50. I’ve been waiting a decade for her to be in a good movie. This was not it. She definitely broke type-cast by playing the straight-edged doctor aboard a shape that I think was going to Mars? More on that later. Anyways, everyone in the film had pretty great performances, but it was really the writing and directing that derailed everything. I’d actually say that Toni Collette, who is easily the most talented of the cast, was probably the least interesting character and subsequently had the least compelling performance, but I don’t blame any of them.
I’m not sure what went wrong here for Joe Penna. I saw Arctic and thought it was decent, but this was such a far step down for him. Did he not get enough money from Netflix? This film is so incredibly light on plot and stretches itself out for way too long, and I just felt like he didn’t know what to do with the story or characters. The film barely explains the crew’s mission and how exactly they get themselves into their situation.
Netflix really knows how to finance some bad movies. This film was seriously so incredibly boring, and I would say I’m pretty tolerant of slow-paced films. There was just NOTHING going on. Anna, you deserve better. You’re a great performer, but maybe you need a new agent or something.
Nobody is a film created by the conglomerate of mass known only as the Creators of John Wick, and it’s basically John Wick: Dad-Bod Edition. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Bob Odenkirk (wait, Bob Odenkirk?!) plays a man who desperately tries to live a normal life even though his ultra-killer instincts tug at every fiber of his nature not to, so naturally he gets into some trouble and starts JW-ing everyone.
If this was a sort of cinematic universe, I suppose this would be the fifth entry, the other 4 being John Wick Chapters 1-3, and Atomic Blonde. At this point, I don’t think it’s gotten old yet. It’s still lots of fun to watch, even if it’s not exactly groundbreaking in any way.
The story doesn’t make a whole lot of sense as the pacing kind of goes in wild directions that kind of just force you to go with it, because at the end of the day you just want to see some bloody violence. You certainly get that violence, and it’s done quite well. I heard Odenkirk did most of the stunts too, which is great. However, I still have a hard time believing he’s this badass guy that everyone is supposed to fear on the same level of the Baba Yaga himself, but maybe that’s just my own bias.
I think this film is silly and nonsensical, but it’s still largely entertaining. I would say the biggest flaw of the movie is actually that the world-building isn’t nearly as good as the JW films, and without spoiling things, they kind of leave it open-ended for this to become a franchise. I really hope that’s not the case. I think the conglomerate of mass only known as the Creators of John Wick should just keep making one-offs at this point, so they can create different versions of the same story. Can the next entry in this JW cinematic universe be centered around a teenager in high school who has secretly been a Black Ops member for the past 20 years?
Movies can still be lots of fun to watch even if you know everything that’s going to happen. Godzilla Vs. Kong stays in its lane and knows what its trying to be, and that’s totally fine and great. This movie was very predictable from beginning to end, not counting all of its ridiculous sci-fi nonsense. That didn’t really detract from my enjoyment from the film though, because it totally delivers on its massive scale Kaiju action.
There are two story arcs with different groups of humans, and one of them is interesting while the other one sucks. The one specifically with Millie Bobby Brown is incredibly uninteresting, but thankfully it doesn’t last too long for it to become grating to the senses.
Perhaps what’s most surprising about this film is that it actually does decide on a “winner” between the two, which I didn’t think they’d actually do. However, if you have a guess as to how the ending plays out, you’re probably right because that’s exactly what happens. Obviously I won’t spoil it but, it’s pretty clear what will happen.
Overall this film is totally fine, and I actually do wish I got to see it on the big screen. It would have been great to see the monsters duke it out in all its glory, but the TV will suffice for now.
As I said in an earlier post, it’s harder for me to post more regularly with the films I’ve watched this past year due to work being quite busy at the moment, but I didn’t want to leave all of these films by the wayside so I’ll put out some quick hits here, in the order of when I watched them.
A Sun
It’s not often that I get to see Taiwanese films generating film award buzz. Being a Taiwanese American myself, it’s a pleasure to see films from where my parents came from, and Chung Mong-Hong deftly captures both the diversity of the island itself and of the people living in it. It’s powerfully acted, and has many different stories interwoven together in this long crime-drama epic. The film does suffer from being a bit too long, and is honestly a bit melodramatic at times. It’s still able to to piece everything together in a pretty thrilling climax.
Grade: B/79
I Care a Lot
This film tries so hard to be Gone Girl and succeeds in some aspects, mainly that of Rosamund Pike being delightfully evil. It kind of fails at just about everything else though. This film has a kind of poorly written view on female empowerment and a very immature look at the downsides of capitalism, but it’s still a somewhat compelling and entertaining mystery. I liked the performances from everyone in this movie, and it really is hard not to love Pike’s performance as a whole, even if her character isn’t likable at all.
Grade: B-/73
Promising Young Woman
I honestly didn’t know what to expect going into this movie, the only thing I knew was that people thought the ending was incredibly controversial, and that overall this film was pretty polarizing. Well, I can see that now. This is probably my favorite Carey Mulligan performance that I’ve seen; she is absolutely electric in this film. The style and the choice of music was also excellent as well. I also think Bo Burnham is incredibly underrated as an actor, and hope to see him in more stuff. I don’t think the message of this film came across as effectively as it could have, because lots of the points it’s trying to make contradicts itself and kind of makes the film unbelievable at times. I’ll be honest though, I was absolutely fascinated with reading people’s reviews and reactions to this film, probably more than watching the film itself.
Grade: B/79
Da 5 Bloods
Absolutely was not feeling this movie. Maybe it’s because I haven’t seen a Spike Lee movie in a while, but man this film was all over the place. Was he always this aggressively preachy? The first half of this film felt like a soapbox for him to voice all his displeasures about the white man. After that, it devolved into a mishmash of genres that didn’t live up to any of its expectations. Some parts of it felt like a Spielbergian treasure hunt, then Apocalypse Now, and then a generic Hollywood action blockbuster to wrap it all up. I appreciate Lee’s ambitions, but this really soured my taste in wanting to watch any of his future films. I enjoyed Do the Right Thing and Inside Man, but when he makes stuff like this…meh. Delroy Lindo was absolutely robbed of a best supporting actor Oscar nomination though, that guy really went all out for this role. Also greatly enjoyed Jonathan Majors as well, really excited for that young man’s future. The Clay Davis cameo was also incredible.
Grade: C/65
Zack Snyder’s Justice League
Is this film better than the Whedon cut? Yes, only by a little. Was it worth all those years of toxic fans complaining their way for this movie to be released? Absolutely not. I appreciate Zack Snyder’s ambitious vision for the DCEU, even if it’s something I wouldn’t be too thrilled about had it come to fruition. I am in a way happy he got to release his cut, but this sets a dangerous precedent for fans thinking they can just complain hard enough to “release the X cut” if something they like isn’t too well received. But look, there’s plenty to enjoy in this film. The best compliment I could give about this film is that it did make me want to see more. It’s hard to have an Avengers-type buildup in one film, but Snyder does his best. I’d wager he could have pulled it off too, if 50% of the film hadn’t been in freaking slow-mo. Seriously, IT’S NOT THAT COOL OF AN EFFECT. PLEASE STOP USING IT SO MUCH. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have a good time with this film though, and I really hope Henry Cavill gets another shot at being Superman.
Grade: B/77
The Dissident
I was absolutely enthralled with Bryan Fogel’s previous documentary, Icarus. Obviously I had to give his follow-up documentary a view, and The Dissident definitely has that same style of filmmaking, even though the subject matter is vastly different. I think the story itself is more compelling than many fictions, but this documentary still felt the need to Hollywood-ify it up a bit too much. There’s too many flashy effects that kind of numb the actual horrors of the real-life accounts of this documentary. It’s still a really fascinating view into the cost of speaking up for the freedoms of people in an oppressed, totalitarian nation.
Grade: B/80
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Earlier this year when this film was just starting to get buzz, I made the prediction that Chadwick Boseman was going to win Best Actor. Not because he deserved it, but because of the politics surrounding the Oscars. It’s become clear in this past decade that the Academy Awards aren’t so much about awarding films and actors based on whether or not they deserve it, but rather using it as a platform to show how they as an Academy are perceived in terms of what they “believe and stand for.” It’s truly a shame that this is what the most prestigious award ceremony for cinema has come to, especially because whether we like it or not, the Oscars do a lot for exposing people to new films and performers. Too bad behind the scenes it’s just filled with politics and having an agenda.
With that being said though, after finally seeing the film, I can honestly say that Boseman is deserving of the Best Actor award. In fact, this film in general had the best ensemble I’ve seen all year. It’s so hard to deny Viola Davis’s greatness, and of course she’s brilliant here. I think Boseman lives up to the hype with this performance, and I think a lot of that lends to the fact that this film, much like the Denzel Washington and Viola Davis film Fences, gives these actors a lot of time to flex their acting muscles. Both are similar since they’re August Wilson theater adaptations, and the majority of the movie is just them sitting in one room and talking for about half an hour. Because of that, I felt the same way as I did with Fences. This film has excellent performances, but it’s also…kind of boring. It was hard for me to be interested in what was going on, even from a cinematic standpoint. It’s just a lot of back and forth shots with not a lot of development going on. The music was great, but there surprisingly wasn’t that much of it either. The ending also got me feeling kind of mixed, because I felt like it kind of came out of nowhere and didn’t have the emotional impact I thought it could have. Still, it’s hard to deny how well everyone performed in this film. Shoutout to Colman Domingo as well, who I thought gave a really underrated and fantastic performance.
Grade: B/76
The Father
Remember when I said Ma Rainey had the best ensemble of the year? Well, that was before I saw The Father. Granted, this film does not have quite as big of a cast as the former, but Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman are SO GOOD in this movie. This is easily my favorite performance from Hopkins since Silence of the Lambs, and my favorite performance from Colman since…since The Crown season 4 from a few months ago. I do think both are deserving of Best Actor awards, but I highly doubt Hopkins will win, for reasons said above. This film is pure devastation from beginning to end. Not only does this film have some truly powerful performances, the direction, cinematography and editing are sublime. It’s so well made and perfectly captures the message of the story. I really don’t want to go into too much detail about this film because I think it’s better off not knowing too much. The only thing you need to know is that this film will wreck you. If Requiem for a Dream is cinema’s greatest PSA for not doing drugs, The Father is cinema’s greatest PSA for not getting old. This is a film that I absolutely adored, and also never want to see again.
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