With the year coming to an end, I’ve decided to compile all the new releases I watched/played that were not mentioned in my post The First Half of 2017.
Movies:
I No Longer Feel At Home In This Word:
I didn’t even bother to review this one. As I watched this movie I just kept thinking of how much Super did a similar premise better. Watch Super instead. Super is love, Super is life.
With a fantastic score from Hans Zimmer, seemingly random bombings and artillery strikes and gritty camera work, Dunkirk, despite not being very violent, is an intense war movie that is well worth a watch. The only fault I have is the out of order editing that doesn’t really add anything to the movie.
A thriller with no tension, overbearing music, a boring story, and mostly bland characters. This type of MacGuffin plot has been done better so many times before. Director David Leitch can put together a good action scene, but everything else around said action falls flat. Ronin is a fantastic example of a similar premise in a spy film that does it so much better. Watch Ronin. Ronin is love, Ronin is life.
Although much better than the trainwreck that was Iron Fist, Defenders has done little to restore my faith in the Defenders series. The Hand organization is an unengaging antagonist and the Iron Fist still comes across as a whiny asshole. Despite that, the rest of the cast does a good job, and their respective series all still have potential.
Another unnecessary sequel that tries to one-up the previous film, but just falls flat on its face. I’m honestly going to pretend that this one never happened and I’d advise you do the same.
Drive without the style. Locke without the good writing and amazing lead performance. Victoria without the whole movie being filmed in one take. Collateral without the brilliant main performances and awesome gunplay. Take your pick of movies with similar premises, and I ensure you The Wheelman will pale in comparison every time.
It’s a little slow at times, but Blade Runner 2049 was a very engaging film with fantastic visuals. I enjoyed it more than the original, and it’s probably the only movie from 2017 I can’t wait to watch again. I’d highly recommend this one if you have the patience for it.
The Punisher (2017):
Despite the perfect casting of Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle, this series was a real dud in my opinion (which admittedly seems to be in the minority). The story was bland and by the numbers. The characters were unengaging and the action was uninspired. This type of ‘one soldier/ secret agent in a conspiracy’ premise has been done a thousand times before, and it’s been done much better. At least the Iron Fist wasn’t in it.
If you’re looking a good Netflix series based on the premise of a soldier in a conspiracy, I’d highly recommend you seek out Nobel instead.
A fantastic continuation of what is becoming one of my favorite shows. I feel Season 4 added a storyline that helps separate it from the previous three. With plenty of laughs and emotional moments, BoJack Horseman is an easy recommendation for me to make.
To think that if this had been made a few years ago, I would’ve probably never of heard of it. It’s really cool that Netflix is bringing foreign films like this to a wider audience. The Killer isn’t perfect, but I found it rather entertaining despite the large amounts of CGI blood and somewhat odd pacing.
Longmire Season 7:
I didn’t review this season in fear of giving away too much of the previous seasons. That said I felt this was a solid ending to a show that’s a bit hit and miss. Like always the portrayal of Native-American issues has always been done with maturity and respect, without ever feeling like it’s trying to pander to a certain audience. I’d also say the lead performance by Robert Taylor is spot on. In fact, it’s so good I was surprised to learn he was from Australia. That said there times where people act irrationally to a level that goes beyond ‘dramatic license’, and some plotlines got a little too convoluted. I’d give a cautious recommend to Longmire if you’ve run out of shows to binge watch on Netflix.
Combining a constant sense of dread with superb performances, Ozark is certainly off to a good start. Although I had a few minor faults with some plot elements, none of it was too distracting to take away from my overall enjoyment.
With a heavy-handed social message, unlikeable characters, and terrible writing, I found Bright to be an absolute chore to watch. There are some decent action scenes but that’s about it. There are plenty of better buddy cop films which may lack orcs, but make up for it in quality. Where’s director/writer Shane Black when you need him?
Castlevania (2017 Netflix Series):
This one almost missed the list because I completely forgot about it. That should say enough about how I felt about the show.
Games:
Whilst visually appealing with fantastic audio, Pyre‘s repetitive gameplay unfortunately holds it down. That said I respect what they tried to do, and I can see this game clicking for certain people, just not me. I’d still recommend checking this one out just to experience it and form your own opinion.
Despite great visuals and a solid soundtrack, Ruiner had potential to be so much more. The story lacked depth despite the possibility for interesting themes, and the short length of the game did not compliment the high learning curve.
Battle Brothers:
I haven’t reviewed this game either, although I may do in the future. Battle Brothers is a turned-based tactics game where you manage a group of mercenaries in a medieval low-fantasy setting. Although I can’t say there’s anything outright wrong with the game, I found it to lack personality compared to games such as Jagged Alliance 2 and Silent Storm. I am also not a big fan of procedural generation which Battle Brothers relies heavily upon. Despite that, if you’re a fan of turned-based tactics games, there’s a good chance you will enjoy Battle Brothers and I’d still recommend it.
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