Rorschach Reviews Y5: In the Thick of It

[YM!]

1 minute ago, Spaghetti said:

Thanks for the rave! Can’t wait to see what others think, but I’m more and more happy with how it turned out.

9:00 AM EST

 

[Rorschach]

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[Rorschach]

The Epsilon Syndicate: Union of Thieves

 

In more way than one, this is very similar to Kingsman: The Secret Service: it's bloody as hell, its a lot of pulpy fun, the relationship between the protagonist and the mentor is endearing, and its world-building is fairly clear and interesting to watch unfold. Unlike Kingsman, however, I felt this film was more sharply written and fine-tuned and has a lot more memorable characters this time out. The one weak spot I would say is that the villain, while not horrible, does leave a little bit to be desired as he failed to leave much of an impact on me. However, that is just one small blemish in an otherwise spot-on film and I can't wait to see where this new franchise goes from here.

 

I agree with @Reddroast. Antigone and Donatello need their own spin-off.

 

A-

[Rorschach]

I'll be back late tonight (and by late, I mean really late) with 2 or 3 more reviews as I'm seeing Captain Marvel around 7:00 tonight.

[Ezen Baklattan]

Thank you for the Epsilon love! It’s a franchise that I’m really excited to dive further into. And there definitely will be a film where Tig and Donnie are the focus (I’m kinda stealing cookie’s TSW strategy with having different installments focus on different characters).

 

As per the villain...

 

The ending kinda hints at this, but it may well be that he’s only an underling of a much bigger, more devious force out there. Not all the series villains will be like this, but he’s definitely only the tip of the iceberg as per what Nadine and co. will face.

[Ezen Baklattan]

8 hours ago, Rorschach said:

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...so this was in reference to the opening shot?

[Rorschach]

6 minutes ago, Spaghetti said:

...so this was in reference to the opening shot?

If I had read further, it would've been this:

 

[Rorschach]

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[YM!]

1 minute ago, Rorschach said:

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I’m going to sound stupid but which one is that supposed to be?

[Rorschach]

Just now, YourMother the Edgelord said:

I’m going to sound stupid but which one is that supposed to be?

[SLAM!]

 

Oh, I know what it is.

[Rorschach]

 

I was not expecting that lol

Edited March 20, 2019 by Rorschach

[Rorschach]

 

The twist gets twistier 

[Rorschach]

Fuck I spoke too soon

[Rorschach]

Yin

 

So, uh, I definitely wasn't expecting that.

 

Let's start off with the stuff I really liked first: the performances. I will be livid if Daniel Henney does not get an Oscar nomination for his performance in this film. He is so damn good in this film––it reminded so much of John Cho in Searching. Michael Shannon also does a fairly good job as well. The cinematography is breathtaking in this, with many sequences in this film literally being a wonder to behold. Espinosa's direction is strong with some great build-up of tension and mystery throughout, building up to an ending that is sure to leave an impact on audiences as they walk out of the theater. Whether that's good or bad is up to you, but it is definitely a film that packs a lot of surprises in there and keeps you wanting to read it.

 

Building off of that, I wanna get to the part that for me, I'm kinda mixed on: the twist ending(s). Yeah, that parenthesis is there for a reason because the film truly is surprising in how it plays out. On the one hand, it is quite unexpected and also very central into playing into the main themes of the film. On the other, though, the final twist kinda left me in a bit of a WTF feeling after, and I don't really mean that in the best way. I won't spoil it if you haven't read it yet but... I'm curious to see if I'm alone on that train. One thing I will say is that some of the symbolism present in the film, while brilliant in concept, I felt could've been a bit more subtle than the way it was portrayed here. Perhaps that's just a personal thing but it really did take me out of the movie a bit. 

 

Still, this isn't to downplay the film's positives. Not at all. It is still a very well-written, unique film that isn't afraid to bit more abstract than other projects. It just didn't necessarily come quite together for me in the end. I look forward to seeing what New Journey Pictures has in-store for the future

 

B

[Rorschach]

O, Maestro!

 

Very much a Yorgos film if he took a page from Black Swan (minus the horror element). As such, it has a lot of smart, witty dialogue with a sharp script. Oscar Isaac and Jake T. Austin work off each other so damn well. While I don't think its quite as good as his previous efforts, Lanthimos still manages to deliver an overall entertaining piece.

 

B+

 

He-Man III: The Horror of Hordak

 

It is most definitely a marked improvement over its predecessor by actually shaking the stakes up in the plot line and introducing some new welcome elements in here –– a new villain and not repeating the story beats of the first two films again is definitely a good way to shake things up. The action is breezy and fun with enough cheese factor to make it a fairly fun ride. Still, some of the plot elements feel incredibly one-dimensional in regards to the characters themselves. However, if there's one thing I'll give this film series, its that its self-awareness cheesiness saves it from feeling uninspired.

 

B-/C+

[cookie]

3 hours ago, Rorschach said:

I will be livid if Daniel Henney does not get an Oscar nomination for his performance in this film. He is so damn good in this film––it reminded so much of John Cho in Searching.

The Tadashi train ain’t slowing down even in his space opera absence, I see 😎

[SLAM!]

5 hours ago, Rorschach said:

Yin

 

So, uh, I definitely wasn't expecting that.

 

Let's start off with the stuff I really liked first: the performances. I will be livid if Daniel Henney does not get an Oscar nomination for his performance in this film. He is so damn good in this film––it reminded so much of John Cho in Searching. Michael Shannon also does a fairly good job as well. The cinematography is breathtaking in this, with many sequences in this film literally being a wonder to behold. Espinosa's direction is strong with some great build-up of tension and mystery throughout, building up to an ending that is sure to leave an impact on audiences as they walk out of the theater. Whether that's good or bad is up to you, but it is definitely a film that packs a lot of surprises in there and keeps you wanting to read it.

 

Building off of that, I wanna get to the part that for me, I'm kinda mixed on: the twist ending(s). Yeah, that parenthesis is there for a reason because the film truly is surprising in how it plays out. On the one hand, it is quite unexpected and also very central into playing into the main themes of the film. On the other, though, the final twist kinda left me in a bit of a WTF feeling after, and I don't really mean that in the best way. I won't spoil it if you haven't read it yet but... I'm curious to see if I'm alone on that train. One thing I will say is that some of the symbolism present in the film, while brilliant in concept, I felt could've been a bit more subtle than the way it was portrayed here. Perhaps that's just a personal thing but it really did take me out of the movie a bit. 

 

Still, this isn't to downplay the film's positives. Not at all. It is still a very well-written, unique film that isn't afraid to bit more abstract than other projects. It just didn't necessarily come quite together for me in the end. I look forward to seeing what New Journey Pictures has in-store for the future

 

B

 

Thank you man!  I think this is a pretty fair review! I'm really happy that people are reading it and liking a lot of the elements of it! I did kind of think that some of the twist endings could be divisive. But I'm glad I subbed in Daniel Henney when I did!

[Ezen Baklattan]

Thanks for the OM review! I wrote it and conceived it basically over the 48 hours before the deadline so that we could still get some weird ass Yorgos into the year.

[Rorschach]

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