Tag: Noir style

Spoiler-Free Review of “Tokyo Vice” on HBO Max: A Noir Crime Drama to be Excited About!

**This is a spoiler-free review so feel free to read on!**

“I want to report on what really happens…”

Tokyo Vice is a new crime drama series inspired by the true story of journalist, Jake Adelstein. The series premiered on April 7th 2022 on HBO Max with the first three episodes available to stream now. There will be eight episodes in total. Tokyo Vice stars Ansel Elgort, Ken Watanabe, Rachel Keller and Shô Kasamatsu. Each episode runs for approximately 58-60 minutes.

An American journalist living in Japan attempts to find his big story when he finds himself working undercover with the Tokyo Vice squad to expose the yakuza.

Here is the trailer:

Tokyo Vice effortlessly blends a stylish crime noir with a riveting tale of self-discovery, but is it worthty of your next watch? Let’s find out…

The Pros:

Images courtesy of HBO Max

Top notch performances!

I love Ansel Elgort and Ken Watanabe is perfection. I thought that all of the performances were really extraordinary. This type of slow burn crime drama can become dull, but the little moments in between and the portrayals shown to the audience make it anything but. The performances elevate the series that much more, giving us characters to root for.

Images courtesy of HBO Max

An incredible story.

I didn’t really know what to expect with this series going into it, but it surprised me in the best way possible. This is such a gripping story and it pulls you in right from the start. The pilot episode was really strong and the other episodes have been doing a decent job of keeping my attention. I can’t wait to find out what happens next!

The Cons:

Images courtesy of HBO Max

Some character development needed.

I think that we will get there soon and we have seen some flickers of it already, but I want to know a lot more about some of the characters. I also want to know more about certain things but I need to wait for the events to catch up. This isn’t necessarily a con but I’m hoping that the pacing keeps up because this show is really incredible so far.

So am I in or out?

Images courtesy of HBO Max

I’m in!

A stylish gripping crime series that I can’t stop watching!

I highly recommend that you give this series a try even if it doesn’t seem like your cup of tea. The performances are incredible and the story is actually really interesting!

I hope you enjoyed the review and feel free to post your own thoughts and theories on Tokyo Vice in the comments section below. Thanks so much for reading and happy viewing!

Best,

Amy Koto, TV Fanatic Girl

PLAY BY THE RULES…STAY ALIVE…

A harmless night of fun turns deadly for six college friends but the game has only just begun. Take a mystery thrill ride right from your own living room. Dash and Seek is out now! I hope you enjoy!

READ IF YOU DARE…

Dash and Seek is available here!

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Spoiler-Free Review of “Gunpowder Milkshake” on Netflix: Girl Power to the Extreme

*This is a spoiler-free review so feel free to read on!*

“When they need someone to clean up their mess, they send me…”

Gunpowder Milkshake is an action thriller film that premiered on July 14th 2021. It is currently available to stream on Netflix. The film stars Karen Gillan, Lena Headey, Carla Gugino, Michelle Yeoh, and Angela Bassett. It runs for an hour and fifty-four minutes.

The film follows two assassins who happen to be mother and daughter. After being separated many years ago, the two reunite to help protect an eight year old girl from a dangerous group of men.

Here is the trailer:

Gunpowder Milkshake looks like a dream at first glance. The cast is out of this world and it immediately gives us a noir-Tarantino-John Wick-esque vibe which seems like it should be a lot of fun. However, imitation is not always a sign of flattery. Does its attempt to channel this film style get in the way of pure greatness? Let’s find out…

The Pros:

Images courtesy of Netflix

All star cast.

If I wanted a group of female assassins to protect me, I would be more than thrilled if these ladies showed up. The cast was honestly the best part of the movie. These ladies kicked some ass and showed a lot of style and flair along the way. I wanted to explore some of the supporting characters more, but I loved each and every one of them and I thought that even the actress who played the young girl was truly talented.

Dream team right here!

Images courtesy of Netflix

Plenty of action to go around.

If you are looking for mindless violence and plenty of fight scenes, you are in the right place. The film delivers in this category. While some of the fight scenes early on were a little bit too rehearsed and choreographed for my liking, the later scenes made up for this.

The Cons:

Images courtesy of Netflix

Took a while to get going…

When I’m in the mood for a lot of action and violence, I don’t want the pace of the movie to feel slow. For me, this film took a while to get going. Sure, there was plenty of action in the first half of the movie, but the overall plot and pacing just felt slow and unsure of itself.

Once we got to the second half of the movie, I was all in, but I don’t want to have to wait an hour to get there…

Lost some originality points.

I’m all for a movie channeling the vibe of another work, but this film felt like a tired imitation of John Wick and Kill Bill at some points. The slow motion scenes with loud music behind them were almost excruciating to watch. They just didn’t really work here in my opinion.

Once we got to the second half of the film, I noticed that they stopped doing them so much, which really made a difference.

Having a cast of female leads should be empowering and inspiring. There were moments of this throughout the film, but I also thought they deserved a lot more and I also wanted some more humor worked into the film so it didn’t take itself too seriously. Nobody starring Bob Odenkirk was pure perfection for me and I think this film should have taken a page out of its book to understand that you don’t need to mash up popular film styles and gimmicks to make a film entertaining.

So am I in or out?

Images courtesy of Netflix

I’m in about 75 percent…

The film was entertaining and I really adored the cast. It took a while to get going, but once it did, I was invested. I think if the film had made a few tweaks and abandoned its gimmicks and slow motion scenes, it would have been a lot better, but if you are looking for a fun action thriller, you’ll get that here.

I recommend watching Nobody first; however, if you haven’t already, which was absolutely incredible!

I hope you enjoyed the review and feel free to post your own thoughts on Gunpowder Milkshake in the comments section below. Thanks so much for reading and happy viewing!

Best,

Amy Koto, TV Fanatic Girl

DON’T TAKE THE JOB…

It was only supposed to be temporary…but when Olivia Crewe accepts a new position that seems too good to be true, she soon discovers that twelve other girls previously had the same job as her. Only none of them lasted for more than thirty days. No notice. Nothing…right before they mysteriously disappeared without a trace.

My supernatural thriller Girl Number Thirteen is out now! I hope you enjoy!

Girl Number Thirteen is available here!

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