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A “QUICK!” Review of “The Anthem of the Heart (2015)”

  I like a lot of Mari Okada’s work including Anohana, Maquia and O Maidens in Your Savage Season. However, I came out of “The Anthem of the Heart” with very mixed feelings. It is a high school drama that feels a bit half-baked. The drama mostly revolves around the main girl, Jun Naruse, who cannot speak because of an event that occurred in the past. This is an interesting premise but the problem is that this is not the main focus as much as it should. Instead, we have a lot of romance subplots with other supporting characters that just aren’t developed enough. The third act and even the ending felt incredibly forced as well. I do give props for not being predictable and being a decent message but the execution is kind of poor. This premise feels like it would be better as an anime series than a movie. That way, the supporting characters and even the romance could be more developed. The movie does have great animation, character design and music. Unfortunately, if you wa
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A “QUICK!” Review of “Challengers (2024)”

  This is a personal preference but I find it difficult to love a movie when all the main characters are just terrible human beings. Despite Challengers being exactly that, I ended up liking this one. An engaging love triangle story with tons of drama. Great cinematography and unique camera work. An electrifying soundtrack and terrific performances from everyone. The characters are unfortunately all very unlikeable and this can be a problem to enjoying this. However, if you can get past that or accept this then there is a pretty entertaining Tennis movie here.
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A Review of “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024)”

  Mad Max: Fury Road is one of the best action movies ever made. I have been craving for another Tom Hardy sequel for years! I understand that because of the lawsuit with WB is the reason why the sequel still hasn’t happened. For now, we have a prequel concerning Charlize Theron’s character, Furiosa, from Fury Road. Is this a worthy entry in the Mad Max saga? One enjoyable thing about the Mad Max films is that they all feel very different. Furiosa is no exception. It is a very gang-driven, political and revenge-filled story. We get a lot of world-building on how the Wasteland is operating with all its factions. Seeing the political tension between the previous villain Immortan Joe and the new villain Dementus is very engaging. It is also interesting to see a calmer and smarter Immortan Joe. I also like that we get to see what “The Green Place” looked like as we only got tiny mentions before. The prequel story also successfully expands more on how Furiosa is where she is
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A “QUICK!” Review of “The Fall Guy (2024)”

  The Fall Guys is a movie that knows what it is: a fun and entertaining popcorn flick. Ryan Gosling is incredibly charming and charismatic as the main character. Emily Blunt is also very lovable as the love interest. Their romance works because both Ryan and Emily have excellent chemistry. The rest of the supporting cast knew what movie they were making and gave a hammy performance that worked for the movie. What makes this movie stand out is how it is a love letter to stunt performers, with the plot centred around it. It helps that the action scenes are excellent! The movie does suffer from a weak script that has jokes that don’t land. It feels like everyone is doing improv leading to weak dialogue scenes. Nevertheless, this is an enjoyable movie and it succeeds in making me appreciate stunt performers even more!
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A Review of “Fallout (2024)”

  For video games adapted to movies or shows, I usually have extensive knowledge as I am a fan of the game itself. Fallout is different as I have not ever played the games. This meant that this show was a unique experience for me as I was now coming in from a non-fan perspective. Does this show succeed in pulling in newcomers? Firstly, the world itself is interesting. The post-apocalyptic world is visually stunning thanks to the phenomenal cinematography. They managed to capture a weirdly unfound beauty of the world but also contrast this with the ugly nature of human beings. We see how humans on the surface survive through these towns or the cruel activities they do. We also see factions such as the Brotherhood who try for some order on the surface and people who become ghouls after becoming mutated by the radiation. The monster designs are creepy and disgusting which is what makes them great. Some humans have also survived by going into vaults underground. The mystery
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A “QUICK!” Review of “Abigail (2024)”

  Abigail has such a ridiculous yet fascinating premise and completely succeeds in delivering it.  The characters are all pretty flat and one dimensional but they are carried by the great cast and writing. The constant tension between them all and the charismatic performances elevate the story. Alisha Weir is one of the most phenomenal child actors I’ve seen as her performance as Abigail is stellar!  This is such a fun, entertaining film. The gore is enjoyable and the comedy works well. The 3rd act is a little messy but it does have a pretty heartfelt conclusion. I highly recommend avoiding any marketing for this one!
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A “QUICK!” Review of “Monkey Man (2024)”

  Dev Patel is an actor I admire so of course I was interested in his directorial debut. There is a lot of great stuff here but there are some issues too. The first act has a great build-up with its sprinkle of backstory and world of crime. The action scene is fun albeit it is overly edited and has a lot of shaky cams. The movie’s pacing then goes to a complete stall with its boring second act that goes on for too long. Nothing of importance occurs apart from explaining something the audience already knows and a pointless side quest. The final act is a full-on action set piece that doesn’t use shaky cam but is incredibly predictable. Monkey Man has an interesting spin with the added Indian mythology but it is just an overstuffed and over-explained revenge story. It is a great start for Dev Patel and I will look at his director career with great interest.
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