Not that anyone asked, but I’ll post some of my film/TV reviews here. Listed below in descending order of publish date. Short(er) ones directly below, longer ones in separate entries in the same category.
Beware of spoilers.
Contents
- Separate post: The Odyssey (2026)
- Separate post: Obsession (2026)
- American Manhunt: O.J. Simpson (2025)
- The Gorge (2025)
- Nosferatu (2024)
- A Complete Unknown (2024)
- Presence (2024)
- Trap (2024)
- Calls (2021)
American Manhunt: O.J. Simpson (2025)
My rating: 100%
Published 2025-3-2
Very well-done. I only knew the basic story before but this went into lots of detail. Hours of footage from the time including crime scene and court recordings, and interviews with many of the people involved including investigators and forensic team, lawyers from both sides, victims’ family, OJ friends, a juror, etc. There was no narrator; didn’t need one. Insightful captions were interjected throughout, such as regarding many instances of evidence not being presented at trial. Substantially explored both sides and how the court/legal/jury selection, events and societal forces at the time influenced the outcome. Terrific pacing and presented in a way that wasn’t boring. Documentary done right.
The Gorge (2025)
My rating: 50%
Published 2025-2-24
Decent action scenes and interesting story with its clearly divided chapters that each served their own purpose. I liked the dark atmosphere of the Gorge lit with streaks of vivid color. But, a few things: (1) Levi’s adventure from the dropoff point to the West Tower felt extremely rushed and cut up as they squeezed all of that into like 20 seconds; I get they were probably trying to shorten the film but it was very noticeable. (2) The dynamic between the leads was too cliche and sentimental. (3) Most of the Gorge tree human hybrids belong better on the set of Power Rangers; too PG and costume-like. P. S. I got the brief nods to Anya’s chess mini series (The Queen’s Gambit) and Miles’ drum film (Whiplash), which I’ve also seen. Those productions were also better in most ways, although I did mostly enjoy this ride.
Nosferatu (2024)
My rating: 20%
Published 2025-2-1
This movie started off well with an interesting set design, characters and dialogue. A whimsical fantasy world parallel to our own, set centuries in the past. And at some point quite early on it decided that’s what it would use to attempt to keep our attention. Good God. It drags on longer than a vampire’s lifespan. I’m not sure when I started nodding off. I was awake here and there before I slipped blissfully back into the abyss. Remember seeing rats, the lead couple going at it, and then the female lead in bed with Orlok until the sun burns him to a crisp (I will admit, the high-contrast disintegration of his deformed body in the bright light of dawn looked pretty nice on an IMAX screen). Perhaps my inability to stay awake during this film indicates I’m a vampire who needs his deep sleep for another hundred, thousand or so years. Coffin, here I come.
A Complete Unknown (2024)
My rating: 10%
Published 2025-2-1
Boring as sin. Definitely overrated. Nodded off and was half asleep for some of it, although I tried my best. The main issue was that not much happened during the film. The climax is literally Dylan performing music that the audience dislikes. That’s supposed to be the most exciting part of the film. Second, Timothée Chalamet’s acting. While I liked him in the Dune series, I’m seeing what people mean when they say he’s not a good actor. At least, in some roles or films. Edward Norton did a good job though. Dylan’s music was at times performed well in this film, but otherwise it mainly formed a good backdrop for a nap.
Presence (2024)
My rating: 90%
Published 2025-1-25
Beautifully shot. The introduction already had me intrigued as I hadn’t realized before going to see the film that it would be shot from the point of view of a ghost. From there on, for most of the film I was thinking, this is okay, but where is it going? I was even drumming my fingers at a few points waiting for it to pick up. But it eventually came around. One of the best twists I’ve seen. The climax and shocking end of the film dramatically assembled puzzle pieces I hadn’t realized were there and suddenly I saw the whole film in a new light, and I was thinking in my head, wow, the filmmakers truly did an amazing job here. Afterwards, I immediately recommended the film to my girlfriend and family, and my thoughts kept returning to the film (including while I did my workout). The last two films that sat rent-free in my head to this extent were Parasite and Everything, Everywhere, All At Once. Kudos. Well done.
Edit:
Everything rides on the twist.
After skimming other reviews, I’m honestly surprised how many people missed the twist at the end. The answer to perhaps the biggest question in the film is literally staring right at you. It’s crucial that the twist is understood for a review to be valid as it substantiates the entire film. Events from earlier including Lisa’s dialogue when she first visited suddenly has new meaning. To those who didn’t get the twist initially but reviewed fairly after understanding, thank you. Negative reviews due to somehow completely missing the twist and not coming to understand it later, or walking out early, could be considered invalid. Likewise with the revealing dialogue from the antagonist directly preceding the end.
As for the discrepancy between the trailer and film, addressing complaints the marketing was unrepresentative:
I enjoyed both the trailer and the film. The trailer marketed the film as having more of a traditional horror plot with some interesting camerawork, whereas once someone starts watching the actual film they soon discover it is not this at all. Yet it still holds its own with an interesting premise and a twist that substantiates the entire film.
In fact had the trailer marketed it as more of a family drama film, I would’ve been very unlikely to watch it, since I usually go for straight-up horror films. Nonetheless this turned out to be an exception to that and a delightful surprise.
It’s possible to like both a trailer and the actual film even if they seem to portray different things. Not mutually exclusive. You just need a somewhat open mind and be capable of more than an extremely narrow range of interests. This doesn’t apply to you if you’re an NPC.
Trap (2024)
My rating: 0%
Published 2024-11-16
This film is a trap. What was M. Night Shyamalan smoking? Or is this satire? A demonstration of a completely ludicrous script, right?
So they have ultra high security in the area but didn’t think to check the security cameras to see what preceded the woman falling down the stairs? Surely there are security cameras at that area? And it didn’t cross Cooper’s mind that they might check?
A busy shop vendor starts starts talking about “good family values” to Cooper, a complete stranger, and then goes out of his way to let strange man Cooper into a restricted area and give him a restricted code? Has M. Night Shalayman ever met a human in real life or is he one of those aliens from Signs?
Most ridiculous of all, when law enforcement is leading Cooper to the car, they (1) freely let him pick up the bike, and, to add insult to injury, (2) somehow completely miss him taking out a bicycle spoke? WHAT THE ACTUAL F? In real life he would’ve been knocked to the ground before #1 had a chance to happen.
Of course, those were some of the fine highlights. There’s a lot more completely unbelievable stuff besides the above.
There’s a reasonable degree of suspension of disbelief which is to be expected with some of Shyamalan’s other films about ghosts and such, but when the film comes WITHOUT a supernatural, sci fi, fantastical, etc pretext, and you see stuff like the above, then there’s the question of whether M. Night Shalayman and all of the film’s positive reviewers were either (1) taking something strong, (2) intending/realizing this as/is satire (which doesn’t seem to be the case), or (3) completely devoid of their senses. I’m betting on #3.
Calls (2021)
My rating: 90%
Published 2021-12-11
This is like a live action audiobook complemented with beautiful abstract visuals comprised of elegantly-manipulated waveforms and subtitles. A delightful mix of unique, thrilling, fun, and sci-fi, mystery, horror. Separate stories that tie neatly together in the end. Would love to see more productions in this style.
In response to a point I saw on other reviews, it did NOT cross my thoughts even once that the lack of live action or animated humans would be an issue. The sleek, colorful waves that dance around the screen uniquely combine with the tactical resizing and locations of subtitles to capture the plights told by the overall terrific voice actors obscenely well, and amplifies the part where the viewers’ imagination comes in to complete the picture.
Virtually all books I’ve read are better than their screen adaptations, and this multimedia book of sorts manages to intermingle the literary, audio and visual dimensions painfully well, not unlike its subject matter.
This post was last updated 8/31/26.