All User Reviews

A raw depiction of a true story

Henry Hill was probably not as likable as Liotta. This film is very entertaining, and it does convey the basic story of what really went down. Nobody on the outside will ever know the full story. Henry pushed the boundaries to the point where he found out the hard way. His only survival move was the path of a "rat." That was probably a lot more common than most movies would make it appear. The acting is top-notch. The story is well told. The direction is, well, Scorsese. It's a worthwhile 145 minutes. Yeah, it's a long one. I love the narration style, Ray and Joe are great narrators. Pesci also ad libbed a very famous scene in the restaurant.

One of the best mafia type movies.

Based on the true story of the longest criminal trial in US History, Vin Diesel plays the part of Jackie to perfection. Much of the script for the screenplay was taken directly from court transcripts. The documentaries and interviews indicate that this movie was exceptionally accurate. It was also very entertaining.

Incomprehensible, some awful performances, are the false clues meant to be smart?

Nonsense and awful. Another comedy insert performance that is poor and often difficult to follow. Maybe try subtitles.

Derivative movie, see Seconds a much more interesting and certainly higher quality movie.

The story is obvious and derivative. The comedy sidekick is incredibly irritating. They keep making average to poor movies where the original movie or concept is far superior.

The title is misleading, it's closer to Nation of Islam, but with a little dash of Black Panther.

The whole premise is based on woke myth creation.

Quietly brilliant

The pacing is slow and thoughtful, so not everybody's cuppa, and can be surprise for the average anime fan I guess. In many ways it reminds me of Mushishi.

The animation is gorgeous if not flashy. Music is perfect but understated, always taking the back-seat to the visuals.

It tackles the subjects of both impermanence, most obvious example being the death of heroes, and permanence, most obviously through the legacy of heroes. It also brooches, quite brilliantly, on the themes of humility, and true strength.
On a more grounded, and political, level, demons are openly instrumentalizing human empathy to exploit and deceive them. "Demons learn the tongue of humans only to deceive them." "Why do you say this word?" "It's a magic word. When I say it you do not kill me."
The Japanese are naturally based.

Which is funny, in a way. Western culture (what passes for nowadays) has adopted pervasive moral relativism; well, the self-proclaimed mainstream has, and has imposed it on the soft belly of the IQ curve. At the same time, the Japanese, and Asians in general (in the US understanding of the term, not Yookay's) are savagely defending essentialism: what is evil cannot be good, and there is no misunderstanding.
They're literally doing us better than us. Making us look like right muppets in the process. Cheeky tossers.

Frieren herself is a new - at least to me - mix of cute elven girl (sans the ADHD) and 70s movie stone-cold bad-ass. Think Eastwood with longer ears. Being high level is not only about overwhelming power. Although the series features some high-powered fights to rival Dragonball. And Macross too, with its missile saturation attacks. Beautifully animated.
As for Himmel, well, he's a hero of the common folk. He's dead from the start, but damn well present.
By the way, if you know a modicum of German, the names are unimaginative and on the nose. They might be exotic for a Japanese audience, but they rather break the immersion for me.
Anyway, the characters - all of them - are solidly written, with adult and rather subtle arcs, if somewhat predictable. Should be a treat for the teen crowd. By treat I mean a good start for moral analysis and discussion.

Good fiction explores important themes; great fiction leads one to explore them by oneself.

Frieren is a decent shot at greatness.

This movie is not woke at all.

People like Ben Shapiro claim Barbie is "woke," that it pushes feminsim and suggests women are better than men. But when I hear these critiques, I have to ask--did they actually watch the movie all the way through?

Let's be crystal clear: Barbie is not woke. Not even close.

Take the opening scene, where little girls smash their baby dolls. Some critics twist this into a pro-abortion or anti-motherhood message. That is completely incorrect. What the scene is actually showing is that girls can choose how to live. Historically, girls were expected to grow up, have children, and stay at home. Barbie's arrival represents a new option: girls can now do what they want. It is not saying motherhood is bad--it is saying women should have the freedom to choose their life, whether that is raising a family, pursuing career, or both.

Then there's the claim that the movie promotes women ruling over men, and that Ken is protrayed as a dumb side character or even the villian. Again, that is completely incorrect. The film critiques both extremes--matriarchy and patriarchy--and ultimatley says that neither gender should rule by themselves. In the end, it says that the Barbies and the Kens should rule together, rather than alone.

Ken's character arc is actually one of the most thought out parts of the movie. He literally starts off thinking his worth depends on Barbie's attention. When that fails, he turns to power and control. But even that leaves him still feeling empty. At the end, Barbie told him, "You are Kenough." She literally tells him that his value and identity does not come from romantic validation or power. It is sending a message to men that they do not need validation from women, but they are enough and valuable on their own. In addition to this, it sends a message to women that they are valuable on their own aswell.

When people label this movie as "woke," I cannot help but think they walked in with a preconcieved idea. Barbie is not woke. Watch the move in full and be open to what it is actually saying.

Feminist and LGBTQ Narratives

Just watch the first 5 minutes and you'll get to meet the youngest, most intelligent, prestigious and beautiful Yale / Oxford professor, because yeah, that's a thing. And they throw a gay couple at you early because their sexuality is important to the story of witches and vampires.....

Looks like the DEI crap finally made their way into James Gunn’s universe

Seems like nobody was safe from the government’s meddling, pushing that whole movement that forced like 90% of Hollywood to pump out low-quality stuff packed with propaganda, run by some puppet government full of bitter people who basically messed up the whole entertainment industry. And yeah, now it’s starting to show.

My take (yeah, maybe a bit early) is based on SEASON 2. I’ve only seen the first episode so far, but after also watching Gunn’s “Superman” movie, I think it’s fair to say his trademark style is starting to fade. Can’t say exactly why, but you can clearly see the shift toward pointless diversity and forced inclusion in the story.

That’s all for now. If the disappointment keeps going, I’ll update my thoughts later.

Edit.:
I watched the second episode and it gets worse.

Questionable casting but decent story

Diversity casting and female empowerment aside, there is not much that would detract the story.

An excuse for victim culture to be shoved forward

Normally, this is not my kind of movie, but I was prepping my meal and became a captive audience, so here is my dissertation.

This movie glorifies victimhood culture and the victim herself with no regard to morals based on intersectionality and heavy emphasis on emotional appeal.

Straw recycles the same liberal tropes as it had in countless other movies, and the ending does not make the protagonist more sympathetic and leaves things unresolved. Overall, it is a poorly made film with a goal set on pushing an ideology than making a movie that makes you feel better not worse.

DEI, girlboss, multiple mixed race couples, women smart men dumb. This is terrible. Bad acting, bad writing, bad everything. The action scenes
are cheap and ugly. Davidson is annoying and totally miscast. Eddie Murphy looks bored out of his mind and devoid of his usual energy he brings to his acting. The jokes and humor don't work and aren't funny in the least.