amwilburn-60131
Joined Nov 2019
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Reviews42
amwilburn-60131's rating
While You Were Sleeping (2017)
Starring Suzy Bae (Start-Up, Doona!, Vagabond), Lee Jong Suk (Big Mouth, Romance is a Bonus Book) and Jung Hae-in (D. P., Snowdrop) is a very well done K-drama, on par with modern offering (most early KDramas are painful to watch) with a fantasy / thriller drama that dovetails nicely. Of particular note, Kim Won-hae, who spent the entire Strong Girl Do Bong-soon screaming "Do Bong-soon!" finally gets to flex his acting chops here.
A wonderfulky twisted murder mystery involving Suzy Bae's Nam Hong Joo, who has accurate psychic premonitions, who tries to use her abilities to save lives, now must save her own!
With a satisfying, bittersweet conclusion, it will stick with you after you've finished watching it. The 16 episodes never dragged.
9.1/10, A.
A wonderfulky twisted murder mystery involving Suzy Bae's Nam Hong Joo, who has accurate psychic premonitions, who tries to use her abilities to save lives, now must save her own!
With a satisfying, bittersweet conclusion, it will stick with you after you've finished watching it. The 16 episodes never dragged.
9.1/10, A.
Oppenheimer (2023)
Yes, to paraphrase another review, this is essentially just 3 hours of people talking, albeit with a who's who of Hollywood A list actors.
The pacing is incredible, and the 3 hour runtime flies by; achieved by making this less of a biopic and more of a political/ courtroom drama.
I didn't expect much going in, to be honest, as based on the runtime, I'd expected a slow, plodding affair with excessive backstory. I should've known better.
The only complaint I have is there wasn't much emotional weight to this film; but then again, given how much the protagonist tries to distance himself from his emotions, maybe that was the point.
9.2/10, A-
The pacing is incredible, and the 3 hour runtime flies by; achieved by making this less of a biopic and more of a political/ courtroom drama.
I didn't expect much going in, to be honest, as based on the runtime, I'd expected a slow, plodding affair with excessive backstory. I should've known better.
The only complaint I have is there wasn't much emotional weight to this film; but then again, given how much the protagonist tries to distance himself from his emotions, maybe that was the point.
9.2/10, A-
The Marvels (2023)
First off, the best CBM (comic book movie) in 2023 remains Across The Spiderverse (my favourite live action CBM remains GotG3).
But The Marvels is a really fun, action packed film that had us laughing throughout. Really enjoyed the fight sequence choreography in particular. This film also looks good (except 1 "Superman" flying scene at the start).
For the first time since Shang Chi & No Way Home in 2020, there were great cameos that actually helped make it feel like part of the greater connected universe something that's been sorely lacking in the MCU since 2020. Yes Dr Strange had cameos, but most of those were nothing more.
However, there's a scene about 60% into this rather short, quick paced film that feels superfluous & wholly unnecessary: a singing, colourful "Disney" esque planet, which pulled me out of the film completely.
And I can understand the desire to tap into the K Drama, K Pop world's recent surge in popularity, but Park Seo Joon (What's Wrong with Secretary Kim, Itaewon Class) can't speak English, and it shows.
Ok Taecyeon (Vincenzo, Bring it on Ghost), Ahn Hyo-seop (Abyss, Business Proposal, A Time Called You) are both fluent in English. Heck, Song Joong Ki's English would have sufficed.
Finally, it's absolutely baffling that a problem Captain Marvel solves at the end, the short solution somehow escaped her realization for 30 years??
Despite these complaints, this is a really fun, face paced but flawed film. Brie Larsen isn't given enough to do, Teyonah Paris *is* Monica, but Iman Vellani steals the show.
8.3/10, B+
But The Marvels is a really fun, action packed film that had us laughing throughout. Really enjoyed the fight sequence choreography in particular. This film also looks good (except 1 "Superman" flying scene at the start).
For the first time since Shang Chi & No Way Home in 2020, there were great cameos that actually helped make it feel like part of the greater connected universe something that's been sorely lacking in the MCU since 2020. Yes Dr Strange had cameos, but most of those were nothing more.
However, there's a scene about 60% into this rather short, quick paced film that feels superfluous & wholly unnecessary: a singing, colourful "Disney" esque planet, which pulled me out of the film completely.
And I can understand the desire to tap into the K Drama, K Pop world's recent surge in popularity, but Park Seo Joon (What's Wrong with Secretary Kim, Itaewon Class) can't speak English, and it shows.
Ok Taecyeon (Vincenzo, Bring it on Ghost), Ahn Hyo-seop (Abyss, Business Proposal, A Time Called You) are both fluent in English. Heck, Song Joong Ki's English would have sufficed.
Finally, it's absolutely baffling that a problem Captain Marvel solves at the end, the short solution somehow escaped her realization for 30 years??
Despite these complaints, this is a really fun, face paced but flawed film. Brie Larsen isn't given enough to do, Teyonah Paris *is* Monica, but Iman Vellani steals the show.
8.3/10, B+