Necrotongue

Right from the start, the filmmakers threw a lot of "funny" scenes at me that I probably would have enjoyed as a school kid. They just seemed cheesy now. As usual, a new character was added to the plot for another big name. I've seen Javier Bardem in much better roles, though. This one was rather boring. I guess the problem is that this is the fifth time I've seen a variation of the same, including the latest funny-romantic-emotional couple that is very similar to the original couple that managed to bum me out at the end of the film. Plus, Moses turns out to be just a disgustingly overrated star of the ancient illusionist scene. Keeping track of how the characters are related to one another is beyond anybody’s capabilities.

I had no idea how much fun you can have watching two dissectors sinking themselves, sometimes up to their elbows, into the slippery entrails of the motionless Jane Doe. Up to a certain point in the story, the filmmakers managed to build up a very strong atmosphere full of suspense and fear of the unknown. Had they managed to keep it up until the end, it would have been a clear five stars. But despite my disappointment in the last third, I did have fun. I was thrilled, and I believe that many viewers will switch on the lights in all the rooms on their way to the toilet at night while anxiously looking over their shoulder.

I’m not excited about this film by the Coen brothers, but it didn’t depress the hell out of me either. It's true that it was sometimes boring, but I do admit that I enjoyed some moments a lot (the mermaid, the illegal communist writers' group, Laurence Laurentz and Hobie Doyle). Especially the character played by Alden Ehrenreich was great and the scene where he meets Laurence blew me away. Overall, it was quite average.

Today I watched one of my earlier favorites after about twenty years and found a huge number of flaws with it. The film is a classic Australian B-movie from a world that has turned in the wrong direction. Jugger matches are a sort of cross between American football and gladiators. Although I prefer the more intelligent game of rugby and American football is a dumb sport for people who manage to graduate college only because they can run fast, I still found the film entertaining and it brought back a few nostalgic memories.

At first, I thought I would give the film a high rating. I was already intrigued by the opening part and was looking forward to getting excited about the war part. The Russians have shown me before how good they are at making war films, but they failed this time. First of all, I was struck by the way Commissar Fomin was portrayed here. As far as I know, commissars aren’t generally known for their empathy and fatherly attitude towards soldiers. Plus, Fomin was denounced by a Soviet soldier in a prisoner of war camp, where the Commissar got by wearing a uniform of another fallen Red Army man. Another unpleasant surprise for me was a German infantry attack supported by tanks, in which the Germans reacted only after the third shot of the anti-tank gun, even though the first one caused them casualties. The filmmakers wouldn't have gotten away with it even if they'd told me it was a special German deaf commando. The final bomb nonsense finished me off just like the defender. Why?

I was generally satisfied, except for the somewhat lackluster finale and several plot digressions which barely had any impact on the story itself (vampire students). I appreciated how the filmmakers shrewdly avoided the hassle of creating scary monsters by casting Lady Gaga. She gave me the creeps every time she appeared on screen. I was amused by the recycling of Finn Wittrock, which was a great move. The star of this season for me was definitely Denis O'Hare, whose performance was excellent.

The final episode disappointed me. It was tired, uninteresting, and the Devil's Night recycling was uninspired. I definitely imagined the end of the season to be more inventive and lively (although there weren't many lively ones left).

The penultimate episode perfected what the previous part began, everything was working fine overall, but the ending of the storyline with vampire schoolchildren was desperate. Not that I didn't expect something like this, but it disappointed me that the creators were delaying me with such a senseless dead end.

In the ninth episode, the creators decided to return to important matters, such as long-delayed revenge. Paradoxically, they also return to less important matters, and so after three episodes, vampire students have returned, who I don't really enjoy, but I was curious why they appeared in the series at all. I still don't know.

There were occasional minor imperfections, but I bet even Leonardo and Michelangelo got criticized by a meaningless nobody (and no, I don't mean the ninja turtles). Of all the animated series I've ever seen, this one’s the best by a long shot. I look forward to each new episode. Unfortunately, I'm going to be looking forward to it for quite some time. Season 3 was considerably darker and got deeper inside the individual characters. At the same time, it still had everything I love about the series: frantic action, whirlwind of one-liners, film references, and, above all, brutal humor.