pal05052003

I had heard of the negative reviews about the movie but decided to give it the benefit of the doubt and tried to enjoy it for what it is: an entertaining escapist movie. Even with a much lower expectation, the movie barely delivers. Somehow its mash up of horror, drama, and superhero action does not add well The trailer promised an interesting character similar to Robert Pattinson's Batman, where the character struggles to find his place, but the movie skips the hero's journey altogether, and does not have any clear theme. Jared Leto is a great actor, but there is not enough material for him to use all his talents. His character's bond with Jared Harris' character is not well developed, and neither is relationship with Matt Harris. His romantic interest, which is supposed to provide a heart to the story seems forced. This is probably due to bad writing. The fight scenes are actually quite good, and different, though too few. If they opted to make the movie darker, and more horror oriented, it could have worked (maybe). Anyway, the movie has soooooo much to improve, and even for an escapist, unintellectually stimulating movie, it is not that fun to watch either.

I thought I was tired of slasher films, so when I saw the title, I did not care too much. But having seen Taissa Farmiga in American Horror movie, I thought to give it a try. Not that I am a fan of her, but I loved AHS, so I figured this movie should be good, and I was pleasantly surprised. I actually like Farmiga in this movie and even felt for her character. Everyone else was great too. The movie balances well between horror, comedy, and drama. Though it is more comedy drama, than horror. The idea of real people being trapped in a movie is great, here they play it very well. They even have a great set up for the ending. My favorite supporting character was Angela Trimbur's Tina, who is very funny, and Angela manages to play the role with conviction. Nina Dobrev manages to shine in every scene, though she does not get much. In fact, everyone manages to do great in whatever bit parts they have, and that is one of the major strengths of the movie.

Brand New Cherry Flavor is a thriller about a young movie director uses magic to seek revenge on a producer who betrayed. When I read the summary, I was not sure if I wanted to see the series at first; but when I saw Rosa Salazar as lead, I decided to give it a try. The only work I know from her was Alita Battle Angel, and I really loved it so I decided to give it a try. It turned out that after a few minutes into the story, I was hooked and binged through 3 episodes on the first day, and on the second day cruised through the rest. I must say, Salazar's eyes remind me of Alita, as they are so large and expressive. Though she has a lot of dialogue, Salazar has a full range of acting arsenal. She acts with her face, eyes, voice, and even body language. She easily carries the film; though having superb supporting casts immensely helped. For instance, Catherine Keenan, whom Salazar's character turns for help, is great too. She is charming, but you know you do not want to mess with her. Eric Lange, as the antagonist, provides a stellar performance too. He is charming, ruthless, but also human. I may have a problem with the special effects for the entity though, because it looks like bad CGI, and slightly hinders the story. The zombie actors are unsettling even if they do not look decayed, but their stillness is very unsettling. I even like the ending because it shows that Salazar's character has changed and is heading for a new start. I can't wait for the next season, if it happens. And I hope to see more movies for Salazar.