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Spaghetti Kitchen: Year VII - The Reviews Awaken

By Ezen Baklattan, in Create A Year Of Movies (CAYOM)

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Ezen Baklattan

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Armin: That’s impossible! You can’t beat them by yourself. We have no choice but to live in these walls. If you’re so unreasonable, you’ll die, just like everyone else.

Eren: So what, you’re just going to bow your head to those bastards?

Armin: I have no choice right now! None of us have a choice right now.

Eren: Don’t tell me you want to live like livestock, just like everyone else, coward!

 

In a real life COVID context, I'd listen to Armin here.

 

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Attack on Titan

(Spoilers Below)

 

Spoiler

I'm going to keep this kind of brief since I need to get back to work soon, but even on top of that...I don't really know what to say that hasn't been said by other critics.

 

A lot of comparisons came to mind for Dunkirk (no doubt inspired by the same editor, cinematographer, and composer), given the feeling of the film essentially being one mega-intense sequence broken down into a few sub sequences as desperate soldiers begin a perilous escape and battle against a wicked force. Hell, even the lead is the same! As many others have said, the action sequences are astonishing and brilliant in this fusion. There's wickedly intense camerawork and editing within each sequence, and every bit of coordination and grappling hook action is bonkers and brilliant. As horrifying and brutal as things could get, I was never able to look away. The designs of the titans...however, let's just say I'm not a big fan of those uncanny, bizarre things. That said, I know it's an issue inherited from the manga, and there's probably a justification for it somewhere down the road.

 

For all the talk about this being uber long in word count...it ironically doesn't really feel much longer than two hours? I can't really talk about the film being overstuffed, aside from maybe a few superfluous flashbacks. The sequences do drag out a bit too long at parts, but it's not that rough of an issue. That being said...I'm going to be honest. I wasn't as engaged with this world and these characters as I was hoping. I wouldn't say anything is done poorly, but in the relative rush to get to these sequences and focusing on building out a large cast of cadets and officials (many of which honestly kind of blend together, in spite of efforts to give them a more unique personality), the film's vast requirements in developing its characters doesn't quite reach the bar to have a cast of true heroes and standouts we begin to really fall in love with. This could change in the second part, as well as some of the more vague bits, so I won't count these cadets out yet. Mof the plotting is kind of weird admittedly, namely the twist with Eren being able to basically transform into a titan, but again, I'm sure we'll hear more on that soon.

 

As technically stunning as the film is, the biggest issue with AoT is that it's just not quite as compelling as it needs to be to really reach that high level. The problem isn't so much overplotting but in how the plot focusing on an array of various youths training to battle giant monsters, it feels like the focus could have been more interesting elsewhere. All of that being said, these characters and relationships are still at least somewhat engaging at worst and get their own winning moments at times.

 

Like @cookie said about Pillars of Eternity, this is a film that demands your attention and patience with all of its moving pieces, albeit anchored by far more intense and extreme action setpieces. I think the pieces are largely there for something to get stronger over time - hell, The Odyssey wasn't exactly a home run in its first installment. I don't wanna harp on this movie, but the action is worth the price of admission alone, and with some potential, @Rorschach has the chance to really create something special for it down the road. 

 

7.2/10

 

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Rorschach Summer Tentpole

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Thanks for the review @Spaghetti. Admittedly, I am pretty disappointed with the response this has been getting so far, but I do genuinely appreciate the constructive criticism you and the others have stated in your reviews. It seems that the first film in every attempted franchise I've had so far (Odyssey, OPM, this) has stumbled out of the gate in some shape or form.

 

In terms of flaws, I do think the sequel will mostly expand and touch on some of the common issues people had with this one. The second part has a lot of action, but the first hour or so is relatively low-key for the most part (with the exception of an opening action scene). But, knowing what's to come in the future, the sequel is gonna expand on some of the characters and let us spend a bit more time to get to know them more. I think one of my favorite aspects of the series is that it is mainly an ensemble driven franchise, wherein each arc gives focus on different characters. It's one of many reasons I'm very excited for the prospective sequels. 

 

Speaking of the second film, as soon as I'm done reviewing Y7 stuff, I'm hoping to dive right into outlining the sequel. So I hope to get that to you fairly soon.

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Scooby-Doo: Cult of The Creeper

 

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EGK looking at Tony Cervone, Adam Sztykiel, Jack Donaldson, Derek Elliott, and Matt Lieberman:

 

Im Better Than You GIFs | Tenor

 

As others have said, this does a much better job of combining the tone audiences know and love from Scooby-Doo with its punk flair established in the first film (which I admittedly do like more than many users on here) - the film plays fast and loose, never taking itself too seriously (though some of the moments where it tries to kinda falter) while adding many threads that don't seem to jel (and admittedly do feel superfluous in certain spaces) but add up to a wacky and wickedly delightful ride.

 

Did the Hex girls and Doo dogs need to be in this? No. Did it need to be a musical? Also no. That said, Cathy Yan is able to weave everything into a bizarre yet consistently enjoyable stew that never apologizes for beating to its own drum. I do think that some of the plot points are somewhat convoluted (how exactly did Belle find the gang in the first place?) while the threat of Ethan Hawke ultimately felt kind of underwhelming, as much fun as he had in the performance. Also, like @cookie said, I was hoping there would be more of a central mystery, but the twist behind the villain's motivations is still enjoyably satisfying.

 

I do think that audiences who haven't seen Apocalypse recently before this film might be a little bit lost, so it's not too surprising to see it decrease at the box office and not fully win over its audiences. That said, it's a strange yet super enjoyable concoction that we're sure as hell unlikely to get anything like in the real world. Maybe I'm being generous because of that abomination that dropped on VOD last weekend, but hats off to EGK for creating an offbeat delight for summer moviegoers.

 

7.8/10

 

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Dawn of the Last Six

 

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The Last Six is almost a textbook definition of fun, if deeply disposable entertainment. A wannabe-Avengers, it smashes together gods from all kinds of mythologies - an interesting mix, but one that never really lands in a truly satisfying way. While this new installment still won't do a lot to knock the socks off most people or even get a firm recommendation, but I'll give credit where credit it is due - it does actually have a bit more fun exploring the worlds and set up of different mythologies than the first one did.

 

Arguably, the action isn't super interesting, but as LOADED as the film is with exposition and plot, it's still pretty fun to unfold. The performances are fairly solid across the board, but I'm not gonna lie, the Doctor Who Professor was nails-on-a-chalkboard irritating. This must be what @Ethan Hunt feels about T-Bot. The development and visuals are a bit more interesting this time around, and Lust is a bit more of an interesting foe than generic doomsday villain Afterlife.

 

I still would hesitate to give this a full recommendation, but like the first film, it's solid for an afternoon of munching on popcorn.

 

6.1/10

 

 

 

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