Tag: Reviews

Exploring Humanity in _The Great Flood_: A Film Review

One of the best things about Netflix is that you get to watch films and documentaries from all over the world. One such film is The Great Flood from South Korea. It was co-written and directed by Kim Byung-woo.

An-na, an AI researcher and recent widow, played by Kim-Da-mi, wakes in her apartment to find floodwater rising in the thirty-floor complex. With her six-year-old son Ja-in, she attempts to reach safety.

However, they are no ordinary mother and child. The child is a robot designed to experience emotion. This is critical to the whole film. An asteroid has hit, and human extinction is imminent. World governments knew what was going to happen and funded secret efforts to survive, including a space station and research into the creation of engineered human bodies and consciousness. An-na’s employer is also revealed to be involved in these projects, putting her and her child central to humanity’s future.

What stands out most is the film’s balance between scale and humanity. While the flood itself is rendered with striking visual power—ominous skies, rising waters, and carefully staged moments of chaos—the story never loses sight of the people caught within it. The narrative lingers on personal choices, moral dilemmas, and quiet acts of courage, allowing the disaster to feel not just catastrophic, but deeply personal. This focus gives the film an emotional weight that elevates it beyond a standard disaster movie.

The performances are uniformly strong, grounded, and convincing. Rather than leaning into melodrama, the actors bring restraint and authenticity, making fear, grief, and resilience feel earned. Small gestures and silences often speak louder than dialogue, and those understated moments are some of the film’s most powerful.

Technically, The Great Flood is impressively crafted. The cinematography captures both the beauty and menace of nature, using light, color, and movement to heighten tension. The sound design is particularly effective—the rush of water, distant alarms, and sudden quiet all work together to create a visceral experience that keeps the audience on edge. The pacing is deliberate, allowing suspense to build naturally while still delivering moments of urgency and release.

Ultimately, The Great Flood is a film about survival in the broadest sense: not just surviving a natural catastrophe, but preserving compassion, responsibility, and hope when everything familiar is threatened.

If nothing else, it is a great story. With AI coming to the forefront of our lives, I expect more films of this nature in the future. Four out of five stars from me.

Why You Need to Watch The Rip Right Now!

My dear readers, I have an urgent message for you. Stop whatever you are doing, subscribe to Netflix or a dodgy box, and watch The Rip. Quite simply, it is that good. An easy five stars out of five, and the best gangster type film I’ve seen in years.

The Rip is a 2026 American action thriller film written and directed by Joe Carnahan, who developed the story with Michael McGrale. The film stars Matt Damon and Ben Affleck as police officers within the narcotics unit of the Miami-Dade Police Department. They give stellar performances. It also stars Steven Yeun, Teyana Taylor, Sasha Calle, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Scott Adkins, and Kyle Chandler.

It is inspired by the true story of Miami-Dade County Sheriff Chris Casiano. This film tells the story of a group of police officers who, during a raid on a hidden cash operation, find their trust broken down as team members suspect each other of trying to steal a large sum of cash.

The Rip is a gripping, confidently made film that lingers long after the credits roll. From its opening moments, it establishes a tense, immersive atmosphere and never lets go, pulling the viewer into a story that feels both intimate and unsettling. The film’s greatest strength lies in how controlled and purposeful it is—every scene, every beat, feels intentional.

The performances are a standout across the board. The cast delivers raw, believable work that grounds the film’s more intense moments in genuine emotion. Rather than relying on exaggerated reactions, The Rip allows its characters to unravel in subtle, human ways, making their choices and consequences feel painfully real. This emotional restraint makes the film’s most powerful moments hit even harder.

Visually, The Rip is striking without being showy. The cinematography uses framing, lighting, and movement to reinforce the story’s themes, often communicating more through silence and composition than dialogue ever could. The film has a strong sense of place, and the environment itself becomes part of the storytelling, heightening tension and reinforcing the characters’ inner turmoil.

It is all brought to a well-thought-out and masterful conclusion. No need to thank me. Start Netflixing.

Exploring The Life of Chuck: A Review of a Fantasy Drama

Hi, my readers, I hope you are having a good weekend. This is a different kind of film I watched recently that I found quite entertaining. And maybe you’ll like it too.

The Life of Chuck is a 2024 American fantasy drama film written for the screen, co-produced, edited, and directed by Mike Flanagan. It is based on the 2020 novella of the same name by Stephen King. The film stars Tom Hiddleston, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Karen Gillan, Mia Sara, Carl Lumbly, Benjamin Pajak, Jacob Tremblay, and Mark Hamill, with narration by Nick Offerman.

The film’s plot follows the formative moments in the life of Charles “Chuck” Krantz, chronicled in reverse chronological order, from his death, depicted as the end of the universe, to his childhood.

The film’s greatest strength is its unconventional narrative design. The story unfolds like a memory being gently rewound, each chapter revealing not only new information but also new emotional context. What initially feels mysterious and even abstract gradually becomes intimate and profoundly relatable. The structure isn’t a gimmick—it reinforces the film’s central idea that every life, no matter how ordinary it seems from the outside, contains multitudes.

There are chapters to the film. The first is Act 3, Thanks, Chuck

Chuck mostly doesn’t appear in this Act. Middle school teacher Marty Anderson notes unusual things happening around the world, from natural disasters to the worldwide loss of the Internet. Several billboards and advertisements popping up everywhere display a picture of an accountant named Charles “Chuck” Krantz, accompanied by the words “Charles Krantz: 39 Great Years! Thanks, Chuck!” Marty’s ex-wife, Felicia Gordon, calls him, and they ponder if the end of the universe is upon them. Marty describes Carl Sagan’s Cosmic Calendar, a method to visualise the age of the universe in a single calendar year. Both of them begin seeing more disasters and supernatural occurrences.

After losing telephone service and electricity, Marty goes to Felicia’s home so they can stay with one another in the universe’s final moments, watching as the stars vanish one by one. The end of the universe is revealed to be connected to 39-year-old Chuck, who is bedridden in a hospital, dying from a brain tumor. He is accompanied by his wife, Ginny, and his son Brian. Chuck passes away as Ginny tells him, “39 great years. Thanks, Chuck. Meanwhile, Marty tells Felicia, “I love you,” just as the universe abruptly ends.

You realize that what you have been watching is the destruction of Chuck’s mind.

The next two Acts deal with important moments in Chuck’s life, both sorrowful and joyful. By the end, you realize that Chuck was no boring accountant, but lived a full life. Even if he died at just 39 years of age.

I give it four stars out of five. Now, stop wasting your life, and go watch some TV!

A Review of Netflix’s ‘Being Eddie’: Insights and Reflections

Anybody within seven or eight years of my age (I’m forty-six) would have fond memories of Eddie Murphy. I still remember seeing Beverly Hills Cop for the first time. A great film that would never have made it without him. It was the first time I saw on-screen a black character who was clearly more intelligent than the white people around him. All the curses stuck out as well.

But what happened to him recently? I haven’t heard his name in an age. I was also interested in what other aspects of his life were like.

That’s why I watched the documentary “Being Eddie” on Netflix a couple of nights ago.

If you are looking for something visceral, raw, then this is not it. Some critics think it’s more like a prelude to him returning to stand-up more than anything else. It retreats from anything awkward/contentious. He comes across as a family man and reminisces about voicing the donkey in Shrek. There is nothing about the paternity suit with Mel B, for example. He has ten children. Musk would be proud.

The best part is when it just lets him speak. I found his tendency towards OCD intriguing. Great minds appear to have a likelihood for such things, and I doubt it’s a coincidence.

He also brings up that he has never won an Oscar, despite his great performances and sometimes playing multiple characters in the same film. I wouldn’t worry about it if I were him; their value has greatly diminished over the years.

The interviews with other comedy legends, Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock, Jerry Seinfeld, Kevin Hart, and more, show what a powerful influence he was on the industry. They all say nice things. What a pity!

I give it three stars out of five. It’ll make you feel warm. Just don’t expect anything beyond the bland, though.

Have you seen it? Let me know what you think.

The Electric State: Billie Bobby Brown Shines Pity Chris Pratt

Hello dear readers, I do hope you are all enjoying the last gasp of summer. This time, I’m writing about an interesting film I watched on Netflix last night – The Electric State. It’s based on a novel, yay for writers everywhere.

From Wikipedia –

In an alternate 1990, a war between humans and robots has left the world in disarray. With the help of Sentre CEO Ethan Skate, who developed Neurocaster technology that allowed humans to upload their minds into drone robots, humanity managed to win the war, while robots were banished to the Exclusion Zone. However, the success of this technology meant many people opted to live their virtual lives in a semi-vegetative state while drones did most of the work.

In 1994, teenager Michelle lives with her deadbeat foster dad Ted. Years earlier, she was involved in a car crash along with her family, in which her parents and brother reportedly perished, and has since lived with a succession of foster families. Michelle is also having trouble at school due to her refusal to use Neurocaster technology to participate in virtual classes.

One day, the sentient robot Cosmo – a robot character of the cartoon of the same name which Michelle’s declared-deceased younger brother Christopher, who was a child prodigy, watched – finds Michelle. He is only able to communicate using gestures and a limited set of pre-recorded words, but manages to convince her that he is controlled by Christopher. Michelle and Cosmo set out across a dystopian landscape to find him by first finding Dr. Clark Amherst, the doctor who confirmed Christopher’s death.

The film has a good cast. Chris Pratt plays Christopher, and the indefatigable Billie Bobby Brown, of Stranger Things fame, plays Michelle. There is little chemistry between them. Like most modern films, it is no longer socially acceptable for any on-screen age gap romance to develop. If this were made during the actual 1990s, that would have been a central plank of the film. Down with that sort of thing! She is clearly a child, at just 21 years of age.

The relationship between Michelle and her brother is warm and authentic. The robots move naturally, and I liked the action scenes. Things get dark at times but not much more than your average Disney film.

So, when you’re sitting on your couch later, maybe give it a try. It gets four stars out of five from me.

Review of “War Bodies” by Neal Asher

First of all, one very big Happy Christmas to all my readers! I just love this time of year and hope you got lots of presents. If you haven’t already done so, please don’t forget to subscribe.

This novel is a real gem for sci-fi lovers. It is set in the Polity Universe. Piper has grown up in Founder’s World. It was created by a faction that rejected AI and left the rest of humanity many thousands of years ago. Still, they idolize machines and like to replace their body parts with machine parts. Many of them have only a few human parts left. They are ruled by a despot called Castron and as a people, they have somewhat stagnated having a much lower level of advancement and population than would otherwise be expected.

However, recently the Polity have made contact. They are made up of the humans who remained on Earth. AI was totally embraced, and now they even count AIs among their citizens. They are much more advanced and numerous in the Universe. They are also fighting against a great enemy called the Prador who threatens all of humanity.

Piper suffers a work accident that almost costs him his life. However, it unleashes a series of events that come thick and fast. You see, Piper has been created as a weapon using technology beyond even that of the Polity. He never knew but his parents were rebels. What follows is great science fiction and a journey through the entire Polity Universe. The story unfolds beautifully and you’re never really sure who can truly trusted until right up near the end.

The descriptions of space and land battles playing out are brilliant. It also makes you ask interesting questions like whether should AIs be counted as war dead. I’d strongly recommend you give this a read with four stars out of five.

Have you read anything by this author?

Let me know in the comments section below.

Pegasus Part 36

Running furiously was not enough. I could hear its steps getting closer and closer and turned my head in despair.

Its mouth was opened wide and I thought its large teeth would be the last thing I’d ever see as it pounced on me. Then I heard what sounded like a gunshot. Blood splattered all over my face and body as its heavy body fell onto me.

Then I heard Tabitha screaming, “Are you okay Ciarán?”

Concern was etched into her voice.

She clasped my hand and between the two of us, I managed to get out from under the body.

“What happened?” I asked half dazed.

“I don’t know, they never gotten into this part before.

“Tabitha, is that you?”

A black man, not quite six tall holding a heavy machine gun was now standing just a few metres from us.

“Tahir?” Tabitha said under her breath.

Tabitha ran towards him and they embraced warmly.

This was the man that had saved my life but I couldn’t help but feel suspicious.

“Tahir, this is Ciarán. He saved me and helped get me here. He wants to join us.”

“Any friend of Tabitha is a friend of mine.”

He shook my hands firmly.

Then he said, “Come this way. It’s dangerous out here.”