Movie Review - Blog Posts

I always find myself wondering if art is the path I’m supposed to take. There’s always the argument of “not being able to support myself” or getting “burnt out” from doing something I love, But then I sit and watch movies like The Wild Robot and I’m reminded of why this is the path I chose. I still don’t know what I want to do, but whatever it is, I hope I’m able to create something just as beautiful and inspire people the way this movie did for me.

My review on the new Sonic Movie! *SPOILER WARNING!*

For a start, I just want to express how grateful I am for the redesign Paramount worked so hard on! They took their monstrosity and made it look more like the modern sonic we know and love to this day! 

Another thing to note about the redesign is how much more emotion and expression it holds, the enlarged eyes show more emotions and give the animators in this project more to work with. Not only that but by getting rid of the “human” teeth, the design appears less uncanny and more cartoon-like. I also think that the CGI is immaculate as throughout the film I didn’t see the model do anything rigid and the model seemed unnatural to earth but still seemed semi-organic. 

*THERE WILL BE SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT*

The story of the movie is easy to follow and quite fast paced in my opinion. There are some cringe worthy scenes, such as the moment when he flosses after defeating one of Robotnik’s robots and near the end when he get his new bed.

The beginning of the film shows Sonic’s childhood and why he must stay hidden in order to protect his power and himself. This bit of the movie is a tad cliche with having the parent figure perish whilst protecting the protagonist. It then timeskips to the older and current version of sonic, showing how he lives and interacts with the other characters. It also shows us that Sonic is lonely and tired of having to hide. During him playing a baseball game with himself he snaps and causes a massive power outage which alerts the government, causing them to send in Dr Robotnik who is played by Jim Carrey. Whilst Sonic is looking for a place to use his rings he is accidentally tranquilized by Tom who then takes him to San Francisco whilst avoiding Robotnik.

The story has many memorable moments and like I said earlier, easy to follow. One of my favorite scenes is the bar fight. It was comical and had a couple of surprises and by looking at it I can feel that the actors had fun with it. The editing in this scene was also really smooth and pleasing for me in a way.

The characters in the story were also memorable and had a nice feel to them. Each one stuck out and had their own quirks! In my opinion the best character was Robotnik by far, not only was he comical and an interesting villain but also had a great personality and made didn’t fall into the category of being “too generic”. Jim Carrey did a great job at capturing Robotnik’s personality and incorporating it into his acting.

However not everything about the movie was perfect, like I mentioned earlier I hated the fact that Sonic flossed in the movie, it seemed out of character for him and was a cheap tactic to keep the kids interested. I also thought that the movie was quite cliche in some parts and cringe worthy.

The music was a mix for me, there were some bits of it that were really nice to listen to, especially the reboot of the green hill zone theme towards the end and having the music from the sonic mania trailer at the beginning (one of my favorite music artists composed that)! However not all the track was too memorable and didn’t have much of an affect on me.

 Apart from that I feel this movie was a good one and as much as I’d like to say I’d recommend it to anyone, I think major Sonic fans and children would enjoy this film the best.

The Ritual | ☆☆☆1/2

spoilers ahead

I just finished watching The Ritual and it was definitely one of the more unique horror movies I've watched so far. I've only just dipped my toes into the horror genre, but I've been surprised by how creative they can be. The Ritual wasn't a show-stopping movie, but it was definitely chilling and spooky when it needed to be.

The monster design was phenomenal and they revealed it very well in the end.

SO. COOL.

I loved the concept of the monster being the "bastard offspring" of Loki and how it can manipulate your dreams and trick you. It was really fun putting the pieces together and I was glad that my theory (the people that lived in the forest were hikers that went missing and worship the god in exchange for their lives) was right.

The acting was phenomenal all around. Whenever I try to think about whose acting really stood out, I can't think of just one of the main characters. Hotch's scream was seriously a scene stealer though, super chilling.

There were moments in the film that really reminded me of the Blair Witch Project. I like found footage style movies even though they're literally terrifying, so The Ritual wasn't a pleasant surprise.

Was it a life changing movie that made me think? No, but it was good because it was really entertaining and well done. It delivered what I wanted it to: a solid horror movie that was a little scary with a cool concept. Also, the cinematography was a 10/10 and I will definitely be rewatching it again (because me and my sister were cracking jokes the whole time, so I have to get in a scared mood by myself with the lights off).

Eileen (2023) | Fan Theory

I rewatched Eileen (with my sister who loved the movie btw) and I just had a thought pop into my head! I don't know if this is a known thing or if someone has already thought of this, but my theory is that Rebecca is a killer and her modus operandi is finding an unsuspecting person to frame for her crimes!

I believe that Rebecca finds a person who "shares the same ideals" as her and makes them complicit in her kill, then has that person take the fall. Her victim in this case is Eileen, a budding murderer who Rebecca knows she can manipulate.

I had a feeling that throughout the movie Rebecca didn't really care for Eileen. Rebecca tends to talk over her and never really listens to what Eileen says. Not to mention, Rebecca essentially love bombs her, knowing that Eileen is a very lonely and isolated young woman.

Was Rebecca ever a real person? Was her crying and screaming all just an act? Did she find young men wronged by the system and enact her own kind of justice by killing the people responsible for them? Did she kill someone at her previous job then move on to Massachusetts where she chose her next victim?

This movie was so good because it really makes you stop and think. It's so worth it to watch a second time just to pick up on all the little nuances and foreshadowing.

Anyways, this was my insane person ramble. I could elaborate more on the theory, but it's one in the morning and I'm SUPER tired. Thank you and goodnight <3

Eileen (2023) | ☆☆☆☆

(spoilers ahead!)

Today, I watched Eileen and it surpassed any expectations I had going in. Anne Hathaway and Thomasin McKenzie's acting in this movie was incredible and the cinematography was to die for. Perfectly dark and intimate. The buildup of the story left something to be desired, but the twist at the end was done so well that I physically slapped my hand against my mouth in disbelief.

The way Anne Hathaway delivered the line, "The first thing you need to know, this isn't my house. This is the Polk house. I have Mrs. Polk tied up downstairs." Chills.

My favorite scene though, was a bit earlier in the kitchen when Rebecca says, "Tell me, honey...what would make a person want to kill their father?" Eileen replies, "Everybody wants to kill their father." Rebecca's eye twitches and she says, "No they don't. Where did you hear that?"

I thought this exchange was PERFECT. Eileen is completely oblivious to her own psychopathy and capacity for violence, up until the point where she shoots Mrs. Polk and excitedly devises a plan to hide the body. We're led to believe (at least I was led to believe) that Rebecca was the one hiding a secret murder-y alter ego, but then Eileen actually acting on her intrusive thoughts in the end (shooting Mrs. Polk) was a great twist after all the fake-outs.

Also, I love the way we become desensitized to Eileen's intrusive thoughts throughout the movie. Because Eileen thinks that her violent fantasies are normal, we end up just brushing over her thoughts of killing herself/her father until her dark side appears with a literal bang.

Eileen thinks that everyone thinks the way she does and it comes as a surprise when she realizes that she isn't like every one else. Eileen kills Mrs. Polk and she does it with a sort of detached calmness that is so striking against Rebecca who was shaking, screaming, and crying. There's something terribly wrong with Eileen, whereas Rebecca had made a terrible mistake and was trying to fix it.

(Rebecca: "Why did you shoot her?"

Eileen: "I was upset.")

The scene also highlights the fact that Rebecca would never be able to love/accept Eileen because they are not alike. Although it pains me to say it (because I really wanted them to run away together), Rebecca was simply a stepping stone for Eileen in her journey of self discovery.

This made me recall the conversation Eileen had with her father. He said, "Some people...they're the real people. Like in a movie, they're the ones you're watching. They're the ones making moves. And other people...they're there filling the space. That's you, Eileen."

At the end of the movie, Eileen becomes one of the "real people" and smiles.

I feel like I could talk about this movie WAY more and do a better in depth analysis, but I just wanted to briefly talk about some of my favorite parts <3

Bear | 19 | she/her

`ABOUT`

◜ favorite movies/tv shows:

Hannibal (2013), Alice in Wonderland, various Studio Ghibli films, Supernatural, The Walking Dead, various Marvel films, Violet Evergarden, Eileen, Carol, and so on...

⋮ favorite characters:

Hannibal Lecter, Will Graham, Peter Parker, Sam Winchester

◟ hobbies: writing, art, and cooking

DUDE, "The Electric State" is SO FREAKING GOOD OMG

THERE'S G/T, BUT LIKE, REALLY GOOD G/T ON IT WTF

AND, AND THIS MOVIE IS SO GOOD FOR SO MANY REASONS

Please, PLEASE, WATCH IT'S MASTERPIECE

OHHH YOU DONT WANT TO HEAR ME TALK ABOUT A QUIET FUCKING PLACE

LOOK I DONT FEEL STRONGLY ABOUT THINGS BUT OH MY GOD IT WAS AN ENTIRE WASTE OF AN HOUR

Maybe I’m just not like good at seeing the depths and nuance of film or whatever but THE CHARACTERS WERE STUPID AND I CANT ENJOY SOMETHING WITH STUPID CHARACTERS THAT ARENT STUPID ON PURPOSE!!! THEY COULD AT LEAST ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THIS FAMILY IS A STUPID STUPID FAMILY THAT IS DUMB BUT THEY DONT EVEN DO THAT??? THE MOVIE ACTS LIKE THEY SHOULD SURVIVE WHEN THEY ABSOLUTELY SHOULD NOT!!!

RAAAA WHY IS SHE PREGNANT WITH THE KNOWLEDGE THAT THETES EVIL BEASTS WHO WILL EAT HER BABY ESPECIALLY WHEN HER OTHER KID DIED TOO LIKE 😒

They could’ve made it less stupid by saying ‘oh she was pregnant BEFORE the quiet place happened’ BUT IT SPECIFICALLY STATES THAT SHE GOT PREGNANT WHILE IT WAS HAPPENING! IN WHAT FANTASY LAND ARE YOU LIVING IN THAT MAKES YOU THINK OH YEAH LETS HAVE SEX WITH OUR KIDS IN THE HOUSE AND ALSO MONSTERS ROAMING AROUND !!!

Don’t even with me right now IT MAKES ME SO IRRATIONALLY MAD !!!

Don’t watch a quiet place I could sum the whole movie up in about 4 ish paragraphs. nothing significant happens until the end AND BY THAT POINT ITS OVER!!

But prove me wrong I like hearing different opinions👍

Why did no one bother to tell me the climax of Limitless (2011) is Bradley Cooper going through withdrawals as he drinks a loan sharks blood for a hit?

A movie review or something idk

Watched Astérix & Obélix et le Royaume Milieu (or Asterix & Obelix and the Middle Kingdom in English) with my family a few nights ago, with original French audio and subtitles. Even though my sister and I didn't want to watch it at first, as we've only ever seen the animated movies, we were pleasantly surprised.

It was ridiculously funny, and even though most of the French jokes may have fell flat with dubbing, some of them still shone through in any language, like when Obélix ran so fast the cart went over a lake, or the montage where the boat kept hitting the sides of the Red Sea.

And even though most of the movie just looked like cosplayers or LARP-ers with too much budget, they still stuck true to the comic's roots, and kept some of the hilarious cartoon/comic physics.

beauty of Ukrainian movie 🍿🎥

краса українського кіно 💗💗💗

шедевр, на мою скромну думку. я ще не раз до нього повернусь, там так круто розкриваються персонажі і переплітаються життєві історії героїв, я тааак плакала на деяких моментах 🥺

Heart Eyes Misses the Mark

Heart Eyes (2025) directed by Josh Ruben

2/7/25 

*No Spoilers*

Horror movies are hard to make, the hardest being slasher flicks, because everyone has seen at least one in their lifetime. It’s easy to fall into the same tempo that other slasher flicks have, but what breaks my heart is when a slasher takes a unique concept and squanders it. Heart Eyes, directed by Josh Ruben, is a great example of this. 

I usually know when I won’t like a movie, I get a tingling sensation in my gut and I know I’m in for a bad time. The concept of the movie sounded interesting to me, a serial killer who targets couples on Valentine’s Day stalks enemies-to-lovers coworkers who must work together to survive. That is an interesting premise, but the execution was bland and unoriginal. 

The movie centers around Ally (Olivia Holt) and Jay (Mason Gooding), coworkers tasked with nullifying a company PR crisis on Valentine’s Day. However, when they’re mistaken for a couple by the Heart Eyes Killer, their night spirals out of control, leading to death and mayhem. 

I was hopeful during the first few minutes of the film. What I was hoping for was a darkly macabre critique on dating culture, as the opening sequence of the film made me chortle from the goofy actions of the characters who were soon slaughtered. It was a humorous sequence, but also heavy-handed and blunt with it’s jokes. This brand of humor tainted the movie, making it borderline unwatchable. I would’ve been fine with constant tongue-in-cheek jokes if they were good. But they weren’t good, none of them were, and it ruined my viewing experience. While watching this film, there were several middle-grade children in the audience and I noticed they were the only ones laughing at the ‘funny’ parts of the movie. It tried so hard to be quirky and funny, almost like a black comedy, but it wasn’t a black comedy, it was a mediocre slasher film with terrible jokes written by older folks for a younger audience. 

There was a scene that I would’ve really loved, an emotional scene where Jay and Ally’s characters were finally opening up to each other, and it would’ve been the best scene in the movie, except the entirety of it is overshadowed by the violent sex noises of the couple behind them. It would’ve been fine if you could faintly hear the couple’s moaning, but the sound guys pulled out all the stops with wet clapping sounds, sometimes louder than the actor’s themselves. Imagine the scene from Titanic where Jack dies, now picture the same scene with aggressively loud porn playing in the background. It wouldn’t surprise me if Holt and Gooding did this scene not knowing what was going to be plugged in the background, then saw the end result at the screening and were mortified. The only good scene in the entire movie was ruined by this film’s stupid juvenile humor. I love a good joke, especially raunchy ones, but this film has no idea what it wants to be. Is it a black comedy, or is it a horror film? It can’t make up it’s mind. 

You can always tell when a white person is writing a black character, you can always tell when a man is writing a female character, and you can always tell when people over the age of fifty are writing characters under the age of thirty. There were so many brainrot sentences in this film that my brain was slowly growing numb from the viewing experience. Phrases such as incel, beta, troll, sugar daddy, love language, algorithm, and shooting my shot were all used, and they were all used in a clumsy way, as if the writers weren’t used to the crazy slang the kids of today use. One character even used the sentence “incel-beta-troll” to describe the killer. It was all so painful to watch. After watching the movie, I checked to see what else the writers worked on and it did not surprise me to learn the writers behind Heart Eyes were the same masterminds who constructed Freaky (2020) and Happy Death Day 2U (2019). 

The protagonists and the killer are both extremely dumb. There are points in this movie where both Jay and Ally have a clear shot to kill Heart Eyes and they don’t pull the trigger. Even when they do, they wound him in some arbitrary place that doesn’t stop him from hurting others. Likewise, the killer has several opportunities to kill the two and blows it everytime. The killer goes from being a spectacular marksman, one who can nail a target from fifty feet away, and seconds later he can hardly hit Ally at all. Those who watched the movie might argue that the plot twist (if you can even call it that) explained this discrepancy, but it doesn’t and I would be happy to argue about it in my DMs. 

Also, I predicted who the killer was in the first twenty minutes. I also predicted the plot twist and neither of them were shocking at all. Not to mention the killer’s motivations are so vague and stupid I was angry by the time the credits rolled. 

What saddens me is that Olivia Holt and Mason Gooding are good actors, they’re a big part of the reason why I saw the movie in the first place. Their acting was a highlight of the movie. They weren’t god tier, but they were good, and getting someone to care about a two-dimensional character is hard. Holt and Gooding took two flat characters and enhanced them and that’s something I can appreciate. My only hope is that this movie does well at the box office and the two of them can move on to more apt rolls that are better suited for their talents. 

Another aspect of the movie I enjoyed was the fight scenes. They felt quick and fluid, which I enjoyed. That’s pretty much all there is to say about this disappointment of a movie. If you’re planning a Valentine’s date night go watch Companion instead. This movie is not worth your time. 

Final Grade: D

Rick Stepp (irresponsibleink@gmail.com)

Companion (2025) is a Great Critique of 'Nice Guy' Culture

1/31/25

Companion (2025) directed by Drew Hancock

*No Spoilers*

If I had to choose my favorite media trope, it would be the Relatable Robot. This trope has been used countless times, with later examples such as Terminator 2 and recent examples like Alien Romulus. Companion adds to this growing list, contributing a rogue sexbot that’s framed for murder, and despite being one month in, this might be one of my favorite movies of the year. 

Companion opens with Josh (Jack Quaid) and his girlfriend, Iris (Sophie Thatcher), who are going to a remote cabin to spend some time with Josh’s friends, Kat (Megan Suri), Eli (Harvey Guillén), Patrick (Lukas Cage), and Sergey (Rupert Friend). Iris feels off about the trip and bares a suspicion that Josh’s friends don’t like her. The truth is far more unsettling. After an unfortunate series of events, Iris discovers she’s a Companion, a robot made for subservience and intimacy. As she comes to terms with this truth, she must fight to stay alive and get home before her boyfriend and his friends murder her. 

All the actors were amazing, but the standouts were Sophie Thatcher and Jack Quaid. Thatcher’s character, Iris, must accept some terrible truths while also doing whatever it takes to survive, and Thatcher does a great job making us feel for a supposed machine. I liked her the moment she insisted Josh say 'thank you' to the Alexa in their car. From bright and earnest, to badass and scary, her range knows no bounds. Iris’s one goal is to make Josh happy, but we can sense that deep down Iris is unsatisfied with the circumstances. Quaid’s character, Josh, is a difficult one to portray, because for the story to work, he needs to present as a harmless nice guy, who actually has something nasty and depraved lurking beneath, and Quaid did a great job. You can tell through Jack Quaid’s intentional choices and actions, Josh truly believes that he is the good guy, even when his actions are deplorable.  

This movie’s true antagonist is the ‘Nice Guy.’ Josh believes he is owed something for how ‘nice’ he is. He believes the world is rigged against him, and Iris isn’t enough for him because he ‘deserves someone real.’ He’s controlling with robots and he’s controlling with humans, and his arrogance and self-entitlement lead to everything spiraling out of control. I related to Iris’s character because I think we’ve all tried to find worth in someone else, and that’s what I felt when watching this movie. Iris believes that she’ll be happy if Josh is happy, she believes she’ll feel complete, and you can feel how desperate she is to really be loved and accepted by Josh. The power dynamic in the movie shifts when Iris begins to accept herself. This movie draws on themes such as consent and personal choice, and the ending brings everything together nicely. 

Final Grade: A+

Rick Stepp (irresponsibleink@gmail.com)

Blood and Honey 2 review

**No Spoilers**

I watched Blood and Honey 2 on opening night and I was surprised. The first movie was mediocre and my hopes for the sequel were in the gutter. It seems director Rhys Frake-Waterfield worked out some kinks from the first movie. Maybe constructive criticism did its job here and Frake-Waterfield listened to the reviews of the first film. 

The first Blood and Honey film put spectacle over storytelling. The production team expected the sensationalism of the concept to carry it through and they were mistaken. Reviewing the first film in any serious capacity would be a mistake, as it’s clear they weren’t trying to make a serious film. They took the sequel more seriously, which opened the door for guys like me to tear into it. For people like me who have seen a lot of slasher flicks, Blood and Honey was nothing to write home about. During my viewing of the first film, I had to fight to stay awake. 

The sequel changed some details from the first film. For starters, this film includes characters such as Owl and Tigger, who weren’t in the public domain when the first movie was in production. I was pissed Tigger wasn’t in the first film. Tigger is the Batman to Pooh’s Superman and if anyone can tell you with a straight face they prefer Pooh to Tigger they are not to be trusted. Another change I enjoyed was the redesign of Pooh and Piglet. I understand the original design was about taking the original character of Pooh and making him scary, but you can’t tell me that Pooh is supposed to be a bear-human hybrid and then show me a man with yellow leathery skin. In this film, they updated Pooh to look more animalistic, giving him hints of fur and razor-sharp teeth. 

They also changed the leading man, recasting Christopher Robin’s character with producer Scott Chambers. The acting in this film is pretty standard. The strongest link in the crew was Tallulah Evans who had good charisma as her character Lexy. Except Lexy, the supporting roles were not greatly noticeable and they didn’t take up a lot of runtime. 

The special effects were a step up, as well. In the first film, the crummy effects made the gore look a lot less like blood and guts and more like some cheap props you could buy at a discount store. I'm surprised that Pooh didn't appear after the credits and thank PartyCity for sponsoring the movie. In the sequel, the props looked very professional. The gore looked real enough to make your stomach turn but not so real you can’t enjoy snacking during the movie. 

Character-wise, I was invested in Christopher’s story. I was rooting for him right from the beginning. This film opens with everyone in his small town believing he’s a brutal killer and that leaves him on a quest to deal with his trauma and confront his monsters (both real and figurative). I liked the supporting characters. It was very endearing to see how much Lexy and Bunny (Thea Evans) cared about Christopher and believed in him when a lot of people didn’t. 

While I was invested in Christopher’s journey, the first three-quarters of the movie dragged a bit. Christopher is on a quest for answers, so naturally, a lot of the film is him trying to get to those answers any way he can. But this is still a slasher film! During this “investigative” period, they throw in a few kills to keep us invested, but Christopher and Pooh don’t even confront each other until the final quarter of the film. 

Speaking of the kills, they were very brutal. Bear traps, exploding campers, flaming chainsaws, what fun! A lot of people may think, ‘A flaming chainsaw? That isn’t realistic!’ All I have to say is, dude, if you’re worried about how a flaming chainsaw isn’t realistic then maybe a movie about animal-human hybrids isn’t for you. 

The score was fine, but there were times when the music was a little out of place. It was disorienting to be watching a sad or frightening scene and hear music that sounded hopeful. The narrator also took the piss out of the movie. It was so jarring to watch a serious and intense scene and then to jump to narration like someone is reading a bedtime story to us. 

About that plot twist… Words cannot describe how out of left field it was. I’m glad they explained where the creatures came from, but… yikes. It was entertaining, but a bit convoluted. Also, why did Pooh have to be that character the whole time? That just complicates Christopher and Pooh’s relationship in a way it didn’t need to be complicated. They already had a troubled past together, so why make it more tragic for no reason? 

Then there was the rave scene. I almost cheered when Tigger came onto the scene. I love Tigger! Whether he’s bouncing around in a colorful cartoon or murdering people with his claws and calling his victims fluorescent bitches, Tigger is the OG of the Hundred Acre Wood. And it was so fun to see Pooh batter people around while trap music played. It reminded me of that party bus scene from Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022). I also loved how Pooh and the others kept Tigger in a cage because they knew how fucking crazy he was. 

Was it a good movie? Uh, sure? It wasn’t the best slasher I’ve ever seen but watching it wasn’t a complete waste of time. I would wait until this one hits streaming services before you go watch it. A part of me feels stupid for spending money to watch such a mediocre movie when I could have just waited for it to come to Peacock. That being said, I’m genuinely excited to see what else the Twitsted Childhood Universe has to offer. 

I believe Frake-Waterfield is self-aware about how stupid these movies are. But they’re fun to watch and I bet they’re pretty fun to make. There are worse moves to watch this weekend.

Final score = 62.5%

Rick Stepp (calebstepp23@gmail.com)

Recently, I have watched a series called "Cyberfarm"(Кибердеревня) and, honestly, I really liked it! Probably my new favourite Russian series and one of the favourite series in general…sure, it has it’s flaws (then again, what series doesn’t?), but I’ll talk about them later. Because I think everyone should start their reviews with a list of things they liked about the series and what said series is even about

Cyberfarm is a series about two ex business partners - Konstantin Baragosin, who continued their corporate business, and Nikolai Kulibin, who made a small village on Mars, became a farmer, and lives a peaceful life there…a life that starts crumbling down after years later old friends meet again, to share out a piece of land they both need. Of course it doesn’t lead to anything good, and in mere seconds Kolya loses his home while Kostya loses…everything. Now, these two have no choice, but to forget their old grudges and help each other out, making friends and foes along their way.

Initially, Cyberfarm started as a short series on a YouTube channel called Birchpunk. That channel’s viewers were always talking about how good the VFX look and how much they would love to see this as a movie or a full-length series…which, eventually did happen, because people who worked on Birchpunk were sponsored by Место Силы and Studio Plus so that they can create Cyberfarm

YouTube indie projects getting picked up for a full-length series isn’t that unusual. We’ve seen the same thing happening to "Don’t hug me, I’m scared" or "Hazbin Hotel", as well as, since we’re talking about a Russian YouTube series here, "My student spirit" and "Обьяснялкины". However - I think we should take into account that Cyberfarm was the first one out of these three to get picked. And, at least for this reason alone, I think this series deserves more recognition, because it truly was a big step for Russian cinematography!

And not just indie Russian cinematography - there’s not much sci-fi Russian movies, and most of the ones there are are so bad they’ve been the butt of the joke for years (*cough* Cosmoball *cough*). So, yeah, Cyberfarm being a good Russian sci-fi is rather impressive…but, let me get back on track and talk more about the series itself

• It’s really funny, actually I know that "comedy is subjective" and all, BUT I (and, from what it looks like from many YouTube reviews, lots of other people as well) consider Russian comedy shows painfully unfunny. Which is why, when I found myself laughing while watching Cyberfarm, I was pleasantly surprised…of course there are some bad jokes here and there, but I just ignored them (as you should)

• AMAZING VFX Good 3D graphics and practical effects? In my Russian series??? It’s more likely than you think! Cyberfarm looks really good, half of the shots are pure eye candy and it really immerses you into the world the characters live in. Speaking of characters - all of the the robot ones look especially good, so good in fact that it took me embarrassingly long to realise that they made an actual animatronic only for Robogosin, I thought all robots were made with partiall use of practical effects 😳

• Russia in year 2100 seems very interesting Everyone I watched this series with liked it’s atmosphere & universe…and so did I! The show is full of unique locations, starting with the cybervillage itself and cosmotrain and ending with various planets the characters visit, the most unforgettable of which being Ceres (which, in this series’s universe, is similar to both Russia and Northern Korea). There’s also a lot of interesting concepts, such as conciousness transferring almost every sci-fi has and a hologram family subscription…so, yeah, season one does a pretty good job at exploring the lives of hypothetical people of future

WARNING! THIS IS WHEN THE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW START!!!

One of my favourite moments in the entire series is when Robogosin’s memory card storage is getting full and his robot body starts automatically deleting some of his memories. Explanation for those who (unlike me) are NOT "human/humanoid loses their body" trope enjoyers: usually, the writers don’t bother about such things; so you can either accept the fact that yes, for whatever reason a robot’s memory card is capable of storing an entire human consciousness OR make some insane headcanons about how much terabytes of free storage the robot in question originally had and what for does it need so much storage in the first place…then again, you still have to accept things as they are in this series because Cyberfarm is another case of, what I like to call, "yes, this basic assistant robot has a voicebank. no, don’t even ask why it has a voicebank". And it’s even weirder in Cyberfarm than it is in other series because in CF’s universe Vanya/Robogosin is the only robot with a voice module

• Konstantin Baragosin is CF’s the best character We’re finally getting to the main reason why I enjoyed this series as much as I did. And not just because (as I already mentioned and as many of you already know) I’m a sucker for "human/humanoid loses their body or/and ends up in a body of a robot" trope - Baragosin’s just a really interesting character…so much so that I might as well write&post a whole character analysis of him, but in this review I’ll try to explain why I like him in short. I really like the way he goes from JustAGuyTM to a rich businessman stuck in a cleaner robot’s body and how this path was portrayed in the series. I know for sure that some people may not like it, but, personally - love how he doesn’t change his entire personality in the span of a week and only becomes slightly better as a person (more so not "becomes", but "reveals" that deep down inside he’s a good guy). Also - I really like how, instead of being sad or going "I can get used to this" (like the characters in that kinda plot lines usually do) - Baragosin’s just really pissed off about this entire situation…no amounts of words can explain how entertaining he is tbh, it’s very much a "you should see for yourself" situation

also i like him because he’s just like me fr, love his little stimming (there should’ve been gifs, but tumblr said they’re too big to be included in this post)

• Ok, that’s enough about Bara(Robo)gosin - other characters are also pretty good Of course my second favourite is Kolya, but I also really like Anya, Ilyusha, Galya, Lyudka…yeah, I liked a lot of CF’s characters

I don’t know what else I can say here unfortunately so moving on to…

• ADs and product-placement look, I get it, I really get it and why people do that, but everytime Yandex Plus or СБП appeared on screen it felt like I was fully immersed into the story and someone forcefully pulled me out of it

• The way this series shows everyone’s hatred towards Baragosin is cheesily absurd at times, sometimes he’s portrayed as a total asshole and some other character still says something among the lines of "you’re an asshole and you deserve this" well, no shit, then again this show’s PG-13, obviously the viewers are too young to understand what’s shown on screen unless you spell it out for them. This series finale was even more insane - everyone Baragosin knows, even his best friend (!) were actually considering on doing what the main villain (!) was tempting them to do…just like Baragosin said in this very same episode - what the hell 😭

Also even though I said that I like the way Baragosin is written - I hate how he’s canonically somewhat smart but the writers actively portray him as a total dumbass. There ARE moments that clearly show that he’s NOT dumb…I just wish there were more moments like that in the series 😭😭😭

• Speaking of season one’s finale - yeah, it was really disappointing First of all - why is it two episodes instead of one. Like, in episode 10 (and occasionally in episode 9), half the time the characters were doing stupid ass shit, obviously to fill up the episode’s whole run time. So like…why didn’t they just make the finale one 35 or so minute episode instead of two 25 minute episodes??? The only interesting moments in these two are the ones with Galya and/or Robogosin, and the inclusion of some other characters really hinders the story with uninteresting plotpoints and plot twists. And, while I’m at it - the cliffhanger in which the villain reigns supreme while our two main characters suffer is…not what I’d like to see after witnessing their misadventures for eight episodes straight. I get what the writers were trying to do, but then again - that’s another reason why the finale should’ve been shorter, because at least if it was shorter it wouldn’t have left you with that terrible "man I can’t believe I’ve watched almost an hour of this just for Robogosin to end up at the dumpster" feeling…

• I like Pasha but I dislike Pasha I wanted to include him in my "favourite characters list" but I didn’t. Like, he has a potential to be a great character, but it feels like the writers wasted all the potential he had. And, once you realise it (I realised at the middle of season one) - he becomes really boring to look at it. His actions are predictable and you know he’s not going to take any risks - because he’s a doormat, always have been. Even when he tries to be the hero, specifically in the last three episodes of S1 - he fails miserably. And, if he’s one of those characters who are not that deep and the viewers are simply supposed to root for him because he’s a NiceGuyTM…why exactly should we root for him? It was only vaguely mentioned why he deserves to get promoted at work and those vague mentions are pretty much just "he deserves it. source: trust me bro". "But he’s such a nice guy!" someone would say…ok, and??? Kolya’s also Mr Nice Guy and he still got fired from the same job Pasha currently has. I just…hope he’ll get more character development in season two, but until then - he’s only interesting to look at when it’s Pasha&Galya duo

7’6/10, bonus points simply because I enjoyed it a lot, would recommend. Watched it twice and will watch it again, can’t wait for the upcoming season two. Also you can expect to see more fanarts for this series from me because there WILL be more

I saw Alien Romulus last night.

I saw it with my boyfriend (twas a date). While it's not my kinda genre I still really liked it from a production standpoint. Personally I think it's better than most non-animated movies that have come in the past few years.

I think it fits cohesively with the already given story of the first and second Alien movies as, timeline wise, it falls between the two. I also love that it starts off in a peaceful way and then later on that's when shit hits the fan.

This is a good quality movie. Am I a fan of horror? No. Was I scared shitless by the end? Yes. 10/10 I would recommend.

Spoilers below the cut. You have been warned.

So on a different not this movie played with a few of my fears actually.

1. Birth/pregnancy

2. Weird lanky freak monsters that are human but also not

No the birth is not in reference to the chest bursters. There is an actual baby born and it's kinda fucked out how it comes out cause it's graphic. Made me feel queezy.

NOW the thing that really fucked me up was the hybrid bady! That thing grew up so fast and ended up looking like my worst fear! I absolutely dread and fear that one day I'll roll over in my sleep, open my eyes and see something like that in the room with me or right in my face and that scares the hell out of me. I actually cried on the way home thinking about it it shook me up that bad. What was funny was that thing was in the background of a scene in some stairs, sneaking up and the theater was really quite and I was the only one who audibly said "Ew". I had my eyes closed for most of the scenes with this monster.

The Half of It (2020)

what I did like

This movie was very refreshing because it didn’t have the same cheesy glossy Netflix vibe. We all remember such “masterpieces” as Tall Girl and The Kissing Booth, and it’s nice to see that The Half of It was actually a genuine story.

I really liked the way Ellie’s culture and her family was represented in the movie. We don’t usually see families whose first language isn’t English having conversations in their native language on screen, even though it’s unrealistic. And here it wasn’t even a big deal, it just came naturally.

The meaning behind the title and the story was beautiful. In the last scene when Ellie observes other passengers on the train who are sitting alone, the realization hits that all people are a half of somebody’s story. In friendships, romantic and family relationships there’re always two halves, two people who make them up. People aren’t perfect, you can’t just meet someone who will fit you. Relationships blossom from the work that both people put in. [“Love, it’s not finding your perfect half. It’s the trying, and reaching, and falling.”]

Also having an Asian lead and lesbian representation in a mainstream movie was pretty great.

things that weren’t that great

The whole movie felt authentic but at the same time I was left with a lot of questions. Maybe the things I found problems with are nitpicks or they were meant to be that way. And honestly I might have not even noticed them, if only the movie hadn’t left me unfulfilled. You see, once I finished it, I understood that it was lacking something to make a long-lasting impression. That’s what made me go back and think about what didn’t work for me in the movie.

It was hard to understand the school dynamics. The world of the movie felt limited. And people who were on the outside of Ellie’s life — faceless. With such a tiny world, that revolved around three main characters, the football games and talent shows felt out of place because the school life wasn’t established well. I didn’t understand why those guys bullied Ellie and sabotaged her performance. Just to be mean and because they were racist I guess, but they were so absent from the story, that it felt like a plot device and nothing more. Who were those two blonde ladies Ellie kept looking at during the talent show and in church? Just some random judging women? Did I miss something? All these questions just put me out of the story and left me puzzled.

The characters were closed books as well. I didn’t feel connected to any of them.

Aster’s presented like a ‘dream girl’ type of character that we see through Ellie’s eyes. Her boredom and struggle to choose between what she should do and actually wants were mentioned but her emotions and thoughts were still an enigma. Besides, she was cheating on her boyfriend with Paul and everyone was okay with that? It’s not even addressed in the movie.

Ellie was not relatable for me because, again, we didn’t see much of her feelings. If the movie is already including a voice over, why not use it to help the audience understand the main character better? We only see what she’s going through, but we don’t see how.

While Ellie didn’t seem to play an active part in her own life, it was Paul who was moving the story forward. Usually, I enjoy a good-hearted dense jock, but not here. Trying to kiss Ellie even though he was still with Aster, and then not even caring that Aster saw them but instead saying that Ellie’s gonna end up in hell for being gay (and never apologizing for it). Where did the homophobia come from? The fact that he was religious wasn’t that focused on to expect this turn of events. Just as well, it was hard to figure out what was happening inside his head. His character just like everyone else’s felt flat.

Probably the worst scene of the movie happened in the said church. With twenty minutes left, the movie, that so cautiously avoided and reinvented romcom clichés up to this point, suddenly slips into an unrealistic and awkward speech in front of everybody (everybody being the characters that weren’t well developed nor established, so for us they’re just nobody). Can we please stop making the scenes, where characters finally have a revelation or admit their feelings, so damn public? How often is it actually considered cute? Why can’t characters just talk to each other and be open and genuine, without having an audience to clap for them at the end?

Anyway, the premise itself wasn’t groundbreaking (what is it about Netflix making movies about asian girls writing letters?). However, I enjoyed a calm tone this movie had. I wish they’d just made the plot more exciting? or not as confusing?

After watching the trailer I was under an impression that Paul was going to find out sooner that Ellie liked Aster, and the movie would be about him helping her instead, which I still think would make for a more interesting story. It’s a shame we spent so much time on a relationship between Paul and Aster, that was obviously not going to last.

In conclusion, The Half of It won’t become something I’d like to rewatch or contemplate about. With all its good parts the movie was unsatisfying for me. It felt like we weren’t following an arc but were rather seeing a chain of events in a character’s life. That sure is realistic but doesn’t make for a very entertaining story. Nonetheless, I think it was a nice refresher from all the quirky unrealistic romcoms that we’re flooded with.

6/10

mysterious skin: review ^_^

☆ 5/5 14/1/25

i have seen this movie a while back admittedly but i still rlly rlly wanna talk about it

i think a something really interesting about this film is the way that the story is told. the narrator voice is joseph gordon levitt when talking about both brian and neil. it felt a bit disorienting and almost as if the two boys were one, which might have been intentional as a way to make it known that they are in a way the same having went through the same thing together.

the movie starts focusing on brian who, contrary to neil, cant remember any of the abuse when he grows older. the movie sets this paranormal sci-fi atmosphere with brian feeling sick and seeing these beacons of light. i think its a great introduction to the movie, it really hooks the viewer, setting a mystery for them to immediately interested in and the way it immediately cuts to niels story leaves you wondering about their connection.

during the duration it feels like youre following two separate movies. niels problematic coping through his emotions and distress and brians search for the truth about his childhood. i think it really was porpuseful to really set them apart from one another

the tone of the scenes with neil vs the ones with brian is very different. niel is almost always shown in the dark while brains in the light and more open environments. neils shown in the park alone at night, isolated while brains is in safer more welcoming looking environments.

something that really stands out is the general atmosphere that is created by the way the scenes are shot. there are lots of close ups of the characters it feels like youre invading a private conversation between them. in the flashbacks this feeling grows with the detail shots of the characters features. there are lots of moments of the characters looking into the camera too, which for me has a double effect. both intrusive and emotional, the close ups of young neil looking into the camera feel almost like a cry for help like he wasnt to be seen, while the shots of older neil looking into the camera feel intrusive almost like he doesnt want the viewer to see.

one of the emotional high points of the film comes before neil leaves for new york. hes going around town for one final time and stops at the coaches house. hes unable to go in and only looks at it, thinking back to the abuse he went through. while throughout the movie he always justifies it in some way this is a moment of total clarity for neil where hes able to express his true feelings around the situation. its visually gorgeous with a really nice use of lighting and its so well written aswell it really sticks with you. its a really standout moment of a movie that to me is overall pretty unforgettable

neil eventually moves to new york with wendy, something that would be a fully fresh start for him if it wasnt for him falling back into his line of work as a prostitute for older men. new york is more dangerous than his small town and he finds himself in more dangerous situations

after one of the most intense and hard to watch scenes of abuse in the movie the story comes to a point thats the start of the conclusion. brain manages to find a way to reach neil through his friendship with eric and after neils back from new york he can finally ask him what he knows about their childhood. were back at their coaches house where they break in to the home thats now empty. the coach literally left their life right after that summer, moving out to someplace new. neil takes him to the living room where the coach forced them to have sex with him. the next 5 or so minutes are neil telling the story to brian who blocked it out, during neils recounting he seems to be remembering it again from his own prospective. after the story brain starts crying and neil gives the most emotional speech in the movie as the camera floats above them, floating like an angel like neil describes, with christmas carolers underneath, singing

the scene is a beautiful moment both visually and as a moment between characters. i wanna say this is closure but it isnt, its a reopening of the events for the both of them really. despite this it leaves me feeling heartbroken for them but also hopeful now that theyve found eachother and can share this together and help eachother.

i think is flawless the performances are amazing and its beautifully directed. the only issue i personally have with it is the use of child actors for very explicit scenes. it was very uncomfortable to watch and i think this wouldnt have been allowed with modern child labour laws. other than that i really loved this movie from the scene composition to the soundtrack

I think How to Have Sex is the most relatable movie for teen girls

this is the most poetic movie I've ever seen

Benedetta was an experience as a lesbian with religious trauma

The Order : Let's Talk about it !

Oh dear.... Let just say, this movie wasn't fun. But I like it anyway !

Ok, first : how and why did I watch it ? Saw the trailer a lot while watching Invincible on Prime (yeah yeah, I know, Amazon sucks, but I love watching movies and series, and my usual streaming is down soooo)

Now, let's get deeper. The movie is really, really great (I mean, with a main actor like Jude Law, it has promises). It talks about Nazis in the US in the 80s. DUDE HAVE WE LEARNED NOTHING ???

Ok I'm not gonna spoil, but the first time we saw a swastika (had to go and see how it was written), it made me so uncomfortable. Like, really. The movie is from 2024, so before everything that happened early 2025, but. Spot on. Truely.

Scenario wise, really nice (i mean, it is based on real life events, soooooo), the acting is real good (Jude Law, again, but everyone else ! Dude the acting was so good !). The emotions are there when you need them. God I don't even have the words !

But to be honnest, it is a pretty heavy movie, so, maybe don't watch it before bed like the idiot I am...

What is your favorite movie and when did you first watch it?

My favorite first movie was "Всичко е любов" ("Everything is love") and I first watched it somewhere last year in autumn or winter.

Last month, I watched "Spirit" - the movie from 2002. Because of Jinx, of course. 🙄 I just wanted to see why tf so many people compare Jaekyung 🥊 with this horse 🐎. I started it with low expectations. It's an animated movie for kids, after all. And Western! That's why I wasn't sure if it could be enjoyable for a person like me who doesn't watch stuff like these. Well.... I was wrong 😐. I actually ended up not just liking but also loving this story. The main character, Spirit, which really has a loot of face similarities with Jaekyung, actually is much better than this boxer dude. Unlike Jaegeng, this horse is emotionally mature, responsible, kind but at the same time spontaneous, caring and affectionate. Charming as well. The way he treated his lady and the way Jjk treated Dan has nothing in common. Spirit's actions were full of love and caring, Jaekyung's actions - they were imbued with a complex mixture of vague feelings. But I do realize why things are this way. Like I said, Spirit is emotionally mature while Jaekyung is not, so... yeah, you get what I mean. Overall, I like this movie. ❤️ It was interesting, well written, and emotional. Did it make me cry a little when I watched it for the first time? 😢 Yes, it did. But that's the reason why I was so impressed by it. Therefore, if you haven't watched it yet but don't hesitate any longer and go give it a try. Because who knows, maybe this story would become one of your favorite, too. 😊🩷

source of the pictures: Pinterest

Beautiful Wedding is Batshit Insane!

Okay why is nobody talking about the coked out fever dream that is Beautiful Wedding!?

I've seen commentaries on Beautiful Disaster, which is how I discovered these gloriously terrible movies in the first place, but for some unknown reason, I've found nothing on the (imo far superior) sequel. This is a horrible missed opportunity for the commentary genre and the general public at large who may never get to experience this... experience without the proper publicity. I am in no way the best person for this job, but unfortunately, no one else seems willing, so here we go.

Beautiful Disaster was an objectively bad movie, but I thought it was fun in a very wattpad-esque way. With Dylan Sprouse as a bad boy underground boxer whose most frequent line is "pigeon", you know you're in for a cringey good time.

However, that movie does not hold a candle to the ridiculously awful Beautiful Wedding.

While I wouldn't say Beautiful Disaster was serious in any way, it really felt like everyone involved just gave up all pretense of making, like, an actual movie with the sequel. From what little I know about the book, this movie is completely new material, and oddly enough, I think that worked in its favor. Almost immediately, you just feel a different vibe that lets you know no one making this has any misconceptions about what they're creating. They all know they're making garbage, and they're having fun doing it, which makes it all the more hilarious. The plot is all over the place, the characters make no sense, everything is over the top and beyond nonsensical, and it's great because they lean into it.

There's this one scene near the end where, I shit you not, Dylan Sprouse is on a roof, he sees Abby absolutely caked in mud, he jumps off the roof in slow motion, and lands in a superhero pose. Then they make out while the camera circles them.

Truly it is a shining example of cinema.

Genuinely, I loved watching this movie and will definitely be watching it again. Would recommend to anyone looking for a fun time.

Movies and Series #1

The Last Holiday 2006

Comedy/Romance

Rate : 8/10 “The movie is great to watch, the story itself is enjoyable and interesting. I don’t want to be biased but queen latifah is a good actress too and her movies are too good”