Lucius Walker – Google

A unique take on AI taking over, the movie also explores how much we've grown to rely on technology to the point where perhaps even without an AI, technology has already taken over our lives. ... SPOILER: I do like how the AI still tries to be "benevolent" and "caring", like a parent. Sure, the AI goes to the extreme...but she doesn't pull a Judgement Day. Yeah, she probably could, but to give the AI some credit, she does try the carrot first instead of using the stick right off the bat. And even when given multiple reasons to use the stick, she still tries to be benevolent, and, in the end, it works. Bottom line is that the AI was put into a bad place, but, against all expectations and odds, chose to try to be kind and just, relatively speaking. Acting was a bit cheesy, sure, but doesn't really spoil the experience too much.

A pretty neat movie that serves to tell the tale of humanity when pushed to the brink. A global pandemic causes people to make all the wrong, selfish choices, consuming the kind-hearted and the well-intentioned. People who complain that it's "unrealistic" and "too bleak" obviously hasn't been paying attention to not just how the USA tried to deal with COVID, but other countries as well. They are also are naive to believe that it's "ridiculous" that some people would act in a certain way (e.g. Eric) when people have done far worse for far less. (For instance, there's a doomsday cult in South Korea that actively helped spread the virus by ignoring protocols.) Overall, while perhaps a generic pandemic film, it was still very well made. The actors did their best, the scenario was realistic, and, overall, it showed us a reflection of not just our natures put to the test, but also serves as a reflection of how we handled the COVID pandemic.

[SPOILER WARNING] I honestly feel like this movie got some undeserved hate. I personally thought that the acting was fine. The cast did their best with their roles, some new and old ideas were introduced (heck, the Book of Life even made a cameo, confirming that it does tie in with the events of the previous movies), and the idea of a man struggling against an ancient, evil god that's fused with him is a pretty interesting prompt that can definitely lead to more crossovers with other mythologies. It's honestly a shame that this might effectively be the end of Dark Universe modern remakes. I'm honestly starting to think that the critics are too, well, critical, and are too anal about the invisible standards we've allowed them to decide.

Rewatching it now, I'm finding myself loving it by the second. It mixes gore and psychological horror to really emphasize the downward spiral of the path to hedonism. I really do love how the two male protagonists (almost) had it all, and yet chose to focus on the few things they didn't like about their life and decided that it was hell they needed to escape. Some of the things that really got me the most would be Nico's speech about what supposedly drove him down this path, which included the "same, boring" experiences he was supposedly trapped in. I can see where he's coming from and the thing is that it's actually completely normal, but the fact that he decided to really jump down the dark path and decided to be ungrateful about it really got to me. The Guardian of the Lament Configuration wasn't kidding when he pointed out just how privileged they were, and how they chose to be unhappy despite everything they did have. Another thing that also got to me was just how he showed his true colors the minute he got his hands on the shotgun. It might've not been intended, but I can't help but wonder if this was how Elliot Rodgers, Nikolas Cruz, and the Columbine shooters acted, feeling "manly" and "strong" enough to do what they wanted, when in reality they looked, acted, and sounded like monsters and douchebags the entire way through. Arguably, the fact that we wind up creating these monsters and allow them to do whatever they want which ends in disasters is honestly the true horror of the film, with the Cenobites coming in second. Apologies for getting political for the moment, but guns aren't the main issue that needs to be fixed - it's the people and how they're raised, as well as just how complacent we are. We rely on the parents/caretakers to make sure that their children don't become monsters, and while they do a decent job for the most part, plenty of them do their jobs poorly or don't do them at all, which plays a huge role on what they're destined to become. As the audience, I found myself growing more disturbed and frightened of Nico instead of the Cenobites, since, unlike the Cenobites, people like him exist, and anyone (including myself) can easily turn into that degenerate should we not be careful.

While perhaps it's not as great as the original, nonetheless, I found it to be a pretty nice live action remake. From the very beginning, it's noticeably different in both tone and even setting. Some may complain about it, but after hearing how different the Studio Ghibli anime film was from the original book it was based off of, I decided to accept it as the ongoing trend. Granted, I've never read the original book, so I can't say for sure how different it was, but I feel like SG made no mistakes when they made their changes, giving their film its own unique charm and themes that still sticks by me today. With that being said, the movie is little darker, more serious, and more "realistic" in a sense than the anime counterpart - and I like it. SG's Kiki placed her in a world where she was somewhat easily accepted into society, and how all the people there were kind. In this version, however, not everybody was as kind as they first appeared, with some even straight up disliking Kiki for who she was. In the end, Kiki had to work hard to be accepted by everyone, with her saving the day with Tombo to prove her character and worth to her new home. Speaking of Tombo, I actually like how different he was in this film. In this film, he straight up disliked Kiki from the start, but after she saves his life after a botched flying attempt, he grows to understand her more, and bonds with her after he teaches her a bit of his "magic." He helps her on the road to personal recovery, giving her a spark of hope that she could get better. I was pleasantly surprised that they did throw in another witch into this story, and she had her part to play. A witch who chose to be a musician, she had lost her voice after losing her sister to a storm, and chose to live in isolation with her niece who may or may not one day learn under her aunt and Kiki in the future. Teaching Kiki an important lesson when it came to their powers, it took her a while for her to fully understand that while they can lose their powers, they can get it back, and in the end, their power came from within, not from the broom, as everyone had mistaken, even Kiki. She even returns around the end to give Kiki the support she needed, which helped her fly and save the day. As for Kiki herself, well, for one, I feel like Fuka Koshiba did a pretty good job on portraying this version of Kiki. Yeah, she's not exactly like the Kiki I know and love, but I think that's the point. This live action adaption wasn't meant to be an exact clone of the movie, and yes, while perhaps she could've been a bit more likeable, in the end, she was doing her best in a society that was unsure of what to think of her, so it's natural that she would have a hard time being "likeable" to others (in other words, the other characters.) Besides, SG Kiki was a bit cold to others anyways, particularly to Tombo, since again, she was unsure how to fit in and mingle. Then there's Jiji, our favorite black cat. Assumedly created from pure CG (and perhaps some puppetry), while the effects for him wasn't great, it was still pretty good nonetheless, and while he doesn't have as much of an impact to the story and her character in this movie, he still did play an important role as her mentor and friend, trying to give her advice that she didn't listen to. Overall, I would give this film a 7/10. I'm happy that they made Kiki into live action, and I'm happy that they did a pretty decent job of it, especially considering how they tried to make it more unique in its own way.

I'm not Jewish myself, so I don't know much about their culture, their lore, and especially about the stories of the Golem, but from what little I've read, they seemed to have really done their research. On top of everything else, they weren't afraid to put in the more "dirty" parts of history, which includes gender roles (for both men and women), how women learning to read was essentially forbidden, and especially how the Jews were pretty much blamed for everything, including the plague, which was pretty accurate. Overall, I wound up watching a movie with a Jewish Frankenstein with many mixed themes, and I loved it!