Author: Michael Wayne

Chernobyl! Mini-Series Review

Posted on by Michael Wayne

Chernobyl! HBO did extremely well with this min-series and it’s actually a really good drama to watch as you see things unfold. For those of you who don’t know, the Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear accident that happened on April 26 1986. Jared Harris (Valery Legasov), Stellan Skarsgard (Boris Shcherbina), and Emily Watson (Ulana Khomyuk) each deliver great performances, but my favorite has to be Harris’. He crushed every scene he was in and was amazing. I loved that even though it was only five episodes long, the writers were able to make the viewers well informed of what was going on. I’m not a scientist by any means, but I feel that the way they were explaining everything was really good and it helped me get a general idea of what they were talking about. I also liked that they were very accurate with how everything went down, or at least tried to stay accurate because I understand that sometimes writers have to change stuff to make it work for tv. It gets really intense really fast and it doesn’t stop, you actually get to feel the intensity and it’s an amazing experience. Not only was the writing really good, but so was Jakob hIre’s cinematography! The way he captured everything was amazing and truly special for tv, and I would even say it gave it a horror feel to it. The amazing Hildur Gudnadottir scored the mini-series and she did an amazing job. She was even nominated for an Emmy for her work on Chernobyl. I loved every second of this and I hope you give it shot if you haven’t watched it already.

My Rating: 10/10

ROTTEN TOMATOES: 96%

IMDb: 9.5/10

Chernobyl! Mini-Series Review

Posted on by Michael Wayne

Chernobyl! HBO did extremely well with this min-series and it’s actually a really good drama to watch as you see things unfold. For those of you who don’t know, the Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear accident that happened on April 26 1986. Jared Harris (Valery Legasov), Stellan Skarsgard (Boris Shcherbina), and Emily Watson (Ulana Khomyuk) each deliver great performances, but my favorite has to be Harris’. He crushed every scene he was in and was amazing. I loved that even though it was only five episodes long, the writers were able to make the viewers well informed of what was going on. I’m not a scientist by any means, but I feel that the way they were explaining everything was really good and it helped me get a general idea of what they were talking about. I also liked that they were very accurate with how everything went down, or at least tried to stay accurate because I understand that sometimes writers have to change stuff to make it work for tv. It gets really intense really fast and it doesn’t stop, you actually get to feel the intensity and it’s an amazing experience. Not only was the writing really good, but so was Jakob hIre’s cinematography! The way he captured everything was amazing and truly special for tv, and I would even say it gave it a horror feel to it. The amazing Hildur Gudnadottir scored the mini-series and she did an amazing job. She was even nominated for an Emmy for her work on Chernobyl. I loved every second of this and I hope you give it shot if you haven’t watched it already.

My Rating: 10/10

ROTTEN TOMATOES: 96%

IMDb: 9.5/10

Aquaman! Movie Review

Posted on by Michael Wayne

Aquaman! This movie is fun and enjoyable but if you’re a fan of the DC animated movies, you know exactly how this movie is going to end. Jason Momoa does a good job as Aquaman and I’m happy that he was casted for role, I like the attitude and charisma he brings to it. Patrick Wilson, Willem Dafoe and Amber Heard was also excellent casting. The thing that got my attention and made me like the movie was the cinematography, visual effects and the overall aesthetic, It was very pleasing to watch and I loved all of it. The writing was good but we get the same Aquaman story each time something happens with this character; and I know this is his first movie on the big screen and there are certain things that need be done but I think they could’ve added some twists to the movie or changed up something to surprise fans of the character. I liked the score and I thought it went well with the movie. The underwater battles were gorgeous to watch and it’s amazing that they were able to make them look so good. Also, the costume designs were incredibly accurate to the comics, and I especially liked Black Manta’s design. I also like that Warner Bros. is starting to find their footing with comic-book movies after the Justice League disaster. Aquaman and Shazam (I’ll have the review for that up soon) we’re both good and I’m looking forward to their sequels.

My Rating: 7.2/10
ROTTEN TOMATOES: 65%
IMDb: 7/10

The Condemned! Movie Review

Posted on by Michael Wayne

The Condemned! This movie is full action and cool fight scenes but doesn’t really offer anything else other than those two things. The movie has a pretty good cast with Steve Austin, Vinnie Jones, Tory Mussett and Robert Mammone. As a kid I loved everything about this movie, but watching it now, it’s easy to point out it’s flaws, and I understand every movie has it’s flaws. I love the concept of a movie like this, ten death row inmates put on an island in a fight to the death with the last man standing getting set free. I felt the writing was predictable because of how Jack Conrad (Steve Austin) and McStarley (Vinnie Jones) are portrayed in the beginning and it’s very clear that these two will make it to the end of the movie with no issue. I also felt like the characters didn’t have a lot of time to develop. The fight choreography was done well and the fights between Jack Conrad and McStarley were awesome to watch. The cinematography was okay but I feel like it didn’t do the movie any justice. The soundtrack was also okay but overall this movie has plenty of flaws and relies heavily on its intense action and explosions.

My Rating: 6.1/10

ROTTEN TOMATOES: 15%

IMDb: 6/10

Uncut Gems! Movie Review!

Posted on by Michael Wayne

Uncut Gems! Absolutely phenomenal. Adam Sandler delivers an Oscar worthy performance in this movie. This movie gets very intense and it’s amazing. The Safdie Brothers give us this story of a Jeweler who makes high-stakes bets in the pursuit of the ultimate win. Along with Sandler we have Kevin Garnett and Julia Fox who both give great performances that go incredibly with Sandler. The cinematography done by Darius Khondji is incredible. My favorite scene was when Adam Sandler is in the club during The Weekend’s performance and it was because of the cinematography. Daniel Lopatin’s score was also really good and I think it made the viewer feel anxious because of what was going on in the movie, and it was just really good and I loved it. The pacing was fast and that goes along with what I was saying about the feeling of anxiety because you don’t know what’s going to happen next. This movie is just one of the reasons why I love A24 so much, they make great movies and I love every one of them. Also, as I’m typing this, A24 just announced that Uncut Gems broke their own Box Office record! This movie is incredible and I hope you all give it shot and let me know what you think!

My Rating: 9.8/10

ROTTEN TOMATOES: 93%

IMDb: 8.1/10

Uncut Gems! Movie Review!

Posted on by Michael Wayne

Uncut Gems! Absolutely phenomenal. Adam Sandler delivers an Oscar worthy performance in this movie. This movie gets very intense and it’s amazing. The Safdie Brothers give us this story of a Jeweler who makes high-stakes bets in the pursuit of the ultimate win. Along with Sandler we have Kevin Garnett and Julia Fox who both give great performances that go incredibly with Sandler. The cinematography done by Darius Khondji is incredible. My favorite scene was when Adam Sandler is in the club during The Weekend’s performance and it was because of the cinematography. Daniel Lopatin’s score was also really good and I think it made the viewer feel anxious because of what was going on in the movie, and it was just really good and I loved it. The pacing was fast and that goes along with what I was saying about the feeling of anxiety because you don’t know what’s going to happen next. This movie is just one of the reasons why I love A24 so much, they make great movies and I love every one of them. Also, as I’m typing this, A24 just announced that Uncut Gems broke their own Box Office record! This movie is incredible and I hope you all give it shot and let me know what you think!

My Rating: 9.8/10

ROTTEN TOMATOES: 93%

IMDb: 8.1/10

The Mandalorian Season 1!

Posted on by Michael Wayne

The Mandalorian Season 1! *Spoilers Ahead* This show was great! Jon Faveau did excellent with this show and I’m glad he was chosen to write it. I didn’t like that each episode was a different length, and I feel like they should made them all at least 45 mins or close to it. So hopefully they change that for next season. Pedro Pascal as The Mandalorian was really good casting and it couldn’t have been done any better. Gina Carano was great as well and I hope we see more of her character in Season 2. Whoever thought of the idea for Baby Yoda needs a pay raise and a promotion. Baby Yoda steals the show in almost every episode and was definitely one my favorite parts of the show. The Cinematography was another I really loved about the show. It was really good and helped give the show that Star Wars feel. The score was also really good. I wish they hadn’t revealed Mando’s face at the end, I think they should’ve saved that for a later season once we got to see the character develop more. I also think they should’ve introduced Giancarlo Eposito’s character sooner or at least have teased earlier in the season.

My Rating: 8.7/10

ROTTEN TOMATOES: 94%

IMDb: 8.9/10

Jumanji: The Next Level! Movie Review

Posted on by Michael Wayne

Jumanji! This movie is hilarious! Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, and Jack Black are great in this sequel. Danny Devito and Donald Glover are great additions to an already fantastic cast. The chemistry between the cast was nice and smooth, and it seemed like they were building off one another and I think it made the movie even better. The visual effects were good and I think they were an improvement from the previous movie. The cinematography was good, and I think it fit the tone of the movie well. There’s a shot towards the end and it was just beautiful, I’m not gonna tel you what it is because spoilers. The writing seemed a little predictable at times, but I didn’t have an issue with it because it was just enjoyable and fun to watch. There’s one part that just didn’t make any sense to me at all and I feel like it could’ve been handled a lot better than it was, but that’s just my opinion. The score was solid, and I liked it quite a bit during the third act. Although I did like this movie quite a bit, it wasn’t enough to crack my Top 10 of 2019, which I’ll be posting 10-6 tomorrow probably around 2:00. Have you seen Jumanji: The Next Level? If so, let me know what you thought of it!

My Rating: 7/10

ROTTEN TOMATOES: 70%

IMDb: 7/10

Watchmen Season 1

Posted on by Michael Wayne

Watchmen Season 1! This show exceeded all expectation I had for it. The show is just phenomenal! Regina King (Angela), Jeremy Irons (Ozymandias), and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Cal) are just a few member of this amazing cast. This is a Non-Spoiler Review and I’m going to try my best to avoid any spoilers. We mostly follow Angela Abraham as she slowly starts to uncover this massive conspiracy, and there are quite a bit of twists and turns along the way that genuinely surprised me. The writing was done very well and I love that they stayed true to the source material while also putting their own original touch on it. Regina King is by far the best part about the show, and it seemed like that with each episode that went by, her performance got even better. There are little hints and Easter eggs towards certain characters that I’m not going name and fans of DC Comics will definitely enjoy them. The cinematography is incredible and so was the score of each episode. The final scene to Episode 8 was iconic, everything was there and I think it was the best piece of television I have ever seen. There isn’t really anything negative to say about the show but I would’ve liked to have know a little bit more about the Rorschach group and more about why they wear the Rorschach masks, and also little more about Ozymandias’ time in solitude. If you have watched the show, what are your thoughts on it? Let me know!

My Rating: 9.5/10

ROTTEN TOMATOES: 96%

IMDb: 7.8/10



Ford V Ferrari! Movie Review!

Posted on by Michael Wayne

Ford V Ferrari! Truly incredible film. Matt Damon and Christian Bale give phenomenal performances. The energy and emotion was all there for both of them and it’s no wonder why Bale got nominated for Best actor for The Golden Globes. I really liked this movie for a lot of reasons and on them being the writing. They let the characters develop but they are also giving us an in-depth explanation for why they need to race and beat Ferrari, and how they’re going to do it. Although, I would’ve liked to have seen more from Ferrari’s side of the story, and I feel like that could’ve made the movie even better. The cinematography was outstanding, and it looked really beautiful during the night races. There is a shot at the end I really liked but I’m going to spoil it, but you’ll know when you see it. The races were very exciting to watch and the score went so well with it and made them even more exciting to watch. The pacing was slow, but it was only building up to an epic race between Ford and Ferrari at the end, so I didn’t mind the slow pace. Overall, this was a very good movie to watch and I enjoyed every bit of it and I highly recommend it. I’m almost finished with my Top 10 of 2019 list, so be on the look out for it.

My Rating: 8.6/10

ROTTEN TOMATOES: 92%

IMDb: 8.3/10