theredsky

I absolutely adore Raimi's Evil Dead trilogy from the 80s/90s and the trailer and premise for this film made it seem like we were going back to that level of quality. While this movie isn't bad at all, it's definitely disappointing. There's some great stuff about it. The practical effects are incredible, the acting is over the top and goofy at points and the kills themselves are very well done. There is also a VERY well done scene with a lot of blood and an elevator that still sticks in my head months after I've watched it. When the film wants to feel like the Raimi films then it really is fun to watch however only half of the film is like that and that's my major problem with the movie. It feels like it wants to follow that goofy style but also wants to be taken seriously at points as well which isn't what these movies are known for. I applaud them for trying something different but I would have preferred if they wanted it to be taken seriously then they should have stuck to that for the whole movie because the switch from silly to serious was jarring and usually didn't work. I also wish they had done more with the setting. The film is set in a high rise building but it really only sticks to a couple of locations and doesn't make use of the whole building itself. With a film called Evil Dead Rise it would have been cool to see the characters fighting through floor by floor. It seems like I'm criticizing the movie a lot but I do emphasize that I did enjoy it but I just wish it had done certain elements differently because all the pieces are there but they just have other pieces that don't fit with the rest of the film. I'd still definitely recommend giving it a watch though if you like the franchise or just want a mostly goofy horror film.

Any season of a Star Wars show that came out after Andor would obviously come under a lot of scrutiny because of how good that show was but I still had high expectations due to the fact that this is The Mandalorian. Season 1 and 2 are great so it's really frustrating and annoying to say that Season 3 is honestly pretty bad and a massive disappointment. It feels like all the passion for this show was just sucked out of it between Season 2 and 3. No one involved feels like they actually want to be there. The cinematography went from really great to incredibly generic and the visual effects have suffered a major downgrade as well. Even the music is just okay to the point where once Ludwig's Mandalorian theme plays at the end it actually feels jarring. Everything just feels corporate and safe and it sucks because this was the only other Star Wars show that didn't feel like that. The season spends too much time wasting time instead of focusing on its central story. Reclaiming Mandalore is such a cool idea but this season is more interested in following filler episodes such as the episode with Jack Black and Lizzo which is probably the worst episode of any Star Wars show out there. When they actually focus on the story it's actually pretty interesting but then the finale drops the ball very hard. It's very anticlimactic and wastes any last bit of potential the season had. As much as it pains me to say it, even Pedro Pascal sucked this season. It's very obvious that he wasn't in the suit at all this season and his acting sounds like he just didn't care. At least we had The Last of Us to make me forget about this. Honestly the only good thing about this season is that I did enjoy two of the episodes and when they decided to use practical suits and effects then the show looked great but that was few and far between. If you REALLY like The Mandalorian then maybe check this out but you can honestly skip this and you won't miss anything.