Ofe Ivharue

If you’re eager to watch a movie about nothing—a movie that promises so much but delivers so little—then this is the movie for you! I really was expecting so much. The cast was stellar, the premise was on-point, but sadly, the delivery was lacking. It was like The Last of us meets The Walking Dead meets whatever-movie-you-consider-pointless. And then there was the 5 minutes at the end that sealed how pointless it all was. I wish the movie offered more than it did, but alas. On the bright side: Danny Boyle remains an amazing director/producer. And the cast was phenomenal: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jodie Comer, Alfie Williams, and of course our forever-Voldemort, Ralph Fiennes. The setting was by far one of the best post-apocalyptic settings of all time—very Mad Max level.

ABSOLUTE MASTERPIECE!! 10/10 I can’t say it enough—I absolutely LOVE this movie! It’s the first movie in ages - animated or otherwise - that has moved me to joyful tears. It’s so heartfelt and wholesome. After the final scene, I just sat there, watching the credits roll, and then I looked around the theatre and realized that no one else had left either. We all stayed for the end-credit montage, completely captivated, until the screen finally faded to black. That’s how powerful this movie was. I’m already counting down the days until I can watch it again once it’s out of theaters! Lupita was outstanding in this— a very believable, sentient robot. Her cadence was everything. And the rest of the cast, totally brilliant!!!

The Substance: Great Premise, Flawed Execution I was drawn to The Substance by its unique premise and impressive cast, and in those areas, it didn't disappoint. The concept felt fresh, and the performances were solid. However, the movie seemed to be trying too hard to make viewers uncomfortable. It often lingered on unsettling details that didn’t add much to the story or seemed unnecessary for the moment. Even the sounds were over-the-top. Some of these scenes dragged on longer than they needed to, and unfortunately, things only got worse from there. At one point, I found myself watching with my hands over my eyes, struggling with a gag reflex. The movie could have done without the entire "Monstrous Elisasue" character, and honestly. Scenes like the New Year's Eve party and the walkway to Elizabeth Sparkle’s star were over the top and felt completely unnecessary. In the end, the movie came close but missed the mark. Still, that’s not to say that the lesson behind the story was not clear. It was crystal. “The fear of aging and the lengths people will go to be young and seen again”. The movie did not waver in passing on its true message, and for that, it deserves its flowers. If you're planning to watch it, be prepared—skip a meal and brace yourself for a rough ride.

I was hell-bent on enjoying this, but alas, I found it disappointing. It's just one of those movies that tries too hard to be something and ends up missing the mark. There were just a lot of unnecessary jump-scare scenes that seemed like the director was trying to fit the movie into the horror genre by relying on tropes. For example, the scene with the bird hitting the window and dying, that just seemed very Chekov’s Gun to me — no addition to the movie whatsoever and no explanation to follow. Also, the 3 nuns in red… what was that about? The story, themes and plot were enough to fit the movie into the conventional horror genre without the extra bits. I also found the plot to be a little over-the-top… but that's just personal. I just couldn't understand how everyone was willing to follow the priest’s wishes blindly or believe in a second immaculate conception. I mean come on! For people who act like fanatics of the religion, they shouldn't be so quick to assume that there's a possibility that Jesus would come back again as a baby. Isn't the Bible supposed to be their guiding light? Does the Bible even as much as assume Jesus’ mortal rebirth? That bit just seemed nonsensical to me. But then again, if one shines a light on religion in the real world, one might see instances of followers holding on to every blasphemous and idiotic word of a selfish religious leader. Still, from a logical perspective it just seemed like too much. Also, I wish they'd shown us the baby. Would have been good to see it, especially considering they were not afraid to show us other disturbing things. On a positive note, the cast did so well. Kudos to all of them.. And not just Sydney and Alvaro 👏🏽👏🏽 .

Fantastic movie! So compelling and complicated in all the right ways. I shed a few tears— from amusement, sadness, and relief. Your Name is hands down the best anime movie of the decade. The plot, the storytelling, the scenery, the characters— everything about the movie met my expectations and surpassed them. Kudos, Makoto Shinkai!

This was wholesome to watch! I loved every minute of it. The plot was riveting; the scenes breathtaking; the dialogue engaging. I thoroughly enjoyed the perfect blend between seriousness and playfulness, and the many edge-of-your-seat moments. This is now one of my best anime (movie) so far. While watching Suzume, I kept noticing the similarities to ‘Your Name’ (my absolute favorite movie) and then I found out that the 2 were created by the same person. Kudos to you Makoto Shinkai, you’ve done it again!!! Yet another masterpiece!

*Contains a lot of spoilers- sorry* First of all, I love Kristen Bell so much that I can sit through any movie just because she’s in it. Even this cringy and jarring movie advertised as a spoof when it’s really just scriptwriting and overactive imagining gone wrong. I mean come on, the topsy turvy WhoDunnIt storyline led us to a 9-year-old girl who was freakishly strong and calculative enough to kill 3 adults, almost kill 2, and frame 1 for murder? Come oooonnnn. This aforementioned 9-year-old girl was so strong that she was able to saw a wooden post in half underwater and then stamp her mighty feet so that the pier would break and her mother would fall into the water and drown. ?????? And then there’s that fight with Anna; that was just incredibly cringy. This 9-year-old girl once again proved her Black Widow strength by pushing an adult woman’s head through several glass surfaces and wrestling her to the ground with all the finesse of a martial art’s black belt holder. Just come onnnnn. I just have a lot of questions such as, why did sweet Elizabeth have to die is such an unrealistic and daunting manner? how did the murder weapon which was a kitchen knife suddenly become a pallet knife? How did the difference in slit shape, size and depth slip past forensics? Why weren’t Emma’s fingerprints detected on the pallet knife even if they couldn’t have been identified? How oh how was she able to dismember Chastity? Anddddd number 1 for me: why oh why wasn’t there a story to explain why and how Emma became a vicious killer? I know that people can just do bad things for no reason, but the writers had a rare opportunity to milk the story by explaining what the F went wrong during Emma’s upbringing or in her brain that made her wanna kill people for sport. The movie is just super weird and the end is so not satisfying. But again, Kristen Bell 👍🏽