5's 2022 film & series short reviews

Love, Death, + Robots
Finally watched season 2.
While I absolutely loved the first season, I'm a bit sad to say that I felt that this was just ok in comparison. Still good though, and worth your while if you are a fan of sci-fi/fantasy and/or animation. While I have given the first season a solid 10, this is a 6.5.
Still looking forward to more.


season 3

This season of the sci-fi/fantasy/horror anthology is much better then the second! Still shorter then the first, but packs a lot of punch!
8.5/10

Free Guy
A video game NPC AI becomes self aware, and his creators must act to save him. Cute and charming, and in some ways kinda felt like an action mashup of The Lego Movie and Her (kinda?).
7/10

As an aside, I cannot unhear Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool, and I guess he is just Deadpool in everything he does in my brain now.

Turning Red
This is it. The Pixar movie that completely wrecked me. Yeah, so others have made me shed some tears, but not as throughly bawling my eyes out like this. Related so damn hard on multiple levels. Yes, it bears some similarities plot wise to a certain 80s movie, but told this way was a colossal gut punch (doesn't matter that it's a different animal, maybe better for diversity's sake). I'm sure most other people can relate too for different, and more metaphorical reasons.
As much as I loved it though, it will be awhile before I can sit through this again, but will be thinking about it for awhile.
10/10

Freaky
My favorite type of slashers are the ones with a dash of humor and/or self awareness, and I also dig those with fantastical elements. Perhaps it has to do with my early discovery of the Nightmare on Elm Street movies.
This certainly fits the bill. A mashup of slasher horror and body-swap comedy, a Freaky Friday the 13th if you will, it's pretty entertaining.
7.5/10

Bloodthirsty

Slow burn werewolf flick. A little better then average (keep in mind I've seen so many bad ones), but not in the "so bad it's kinda fun" pile either. I'm having a hard time with this, not sure how I feel, but going for 5.5/10 right now

The King's Man

A prequel to the two other Kingsman films, set in WWI, showing the creation of the organization. A bit less bombastic then the others, yet still having some fantastic action sequences. Fun and entertaining, and maybe a tad more emotion then the others.  7/10

Sonic The Hedgehog
I feel the same about this movie as I did about Detective Pikachu. Cute, but kinda in the middle of the road. Not total roadkill, but not amazing either. Carrey as Robotnik though was fun to watch chewing scenery, so it gets points for that. 5.5/10

Gretel & Hansel
OK, this is right up my alley. A surreal, atmospheric dark fairytale. Very much in the vein of "The Company of Wolves." I know I said that about "The VVitch" also, but this hits that vibe even more so. Great visuals and music and a nice twist on the story. 8.5/10

Promare

Sci-fi action anime with bright loud colors and cool music.
This is a hard one to rate. Twelve year old me would have LOVED the shit out of this. Forty Four year old me keeps wanting to be overly critical. So what if the story takes a bunch of anime, science fiction, and comic book tropes and throws them in a blender? I like the result, story-wise, regardless of how tropy it is at times.
There are enough twists and turns to keep it interesting.
It's aspects of the art style that I sometimes find a bit...distracting? I mean I like the use of color, but the animation style seems so...clunky at times. Could use some fluidity. Or maybe it was a deliberate style choice and I'm missing the point? I'm ok with things like the square-shaped lens flares,  but sometimes things get *too* stylized that I'm not sure what I'm looking at.
Again though, perhaps looking like a cheap cartoon could be an artistic choice, and how can I judge that? Was anime beloved in my youth this choppy- looking, and it just gets filtered through the lens of nostalgia? As unpopular as this is to say, I think this story might actually benefit from a live action remake.
On a positive side there are so many anime-isms, I find it endearing in that bingo-card kind of way ("You gotta have blue hair!")
In the future, mecha-suit wearing firefighters face off against firestarting mutants, but things aren't quite as they seem... 
6.5/10

It Follows

Even if you are not too keen on the idea of a Sexually Transmitted Demon, if you have any interest in horror and suspense and have not seen this yet, you should take it from me and give it a watch. Writer and director David Robert Mitchell really knows how to build up the tension here. And the music and sound design is pitch perfect.
7.5/10

Our Flag Means Death

A very funny pirate comedy!
An aristocrat decides a pirates' life is for him, and hijinks on the high seas ensues.
Hoping for a 2nd season. (Update; there will be)
8.5/10

Season 2 of Raised By Wolves

This along with Westworld make up my two favorite currently running science fiction series. (Well, ok hopefully currently running, this needs to be renewed).
Love, love, love all the weirdness.
I think I gave the first season a 10, there are less episodes so this feels a bit more rushed, but I am intrigued by this seasons' developments. Please be more.
(Update, there will be not )
9/10

High Life
Science fiction film about the concept of sending criminals with death sentences into deep space near a black hole for experiments.
Thought it was ok, but I found it interesting enough.
6/10

The Guest

Wow
Ok, its hard to talk about this thriller without spoilers, but still best to see it going in blind.
A military friend of a family's deceased son shows up one day at their house.
And shit happens.
And also lots of good music happens too!
7/10

The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf

Dark, yet fun animated sword and sorcery film, that is apparently a prequel to The Witcher live action series. Vibes of a cross between Game of Thrones and Fullmetal Alchemist. An alchemically-enhanced monster slayer must confront a dark conspiracy. If you like animation and D&D type fantasy, give this a watch.
 7/10