Dakotah Salazar

Fantastic Film Fan

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Mt. Pleasant , United States

01. December

Joined: Jul 1, 2019

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Dakotah Salazar (12 KP) earned a new badge

Jul 6, 2019

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Dakotah Salazar (12 KP) rated Yesterday (2019) in Movies

Jul 6, 2019

Yesterday (2019)

2019 | Comedy, Fantasy, Music

7.3

(50 Ratings)

Movie Rating

Charming (2 more)

Cinematography

Hamish Patel and Lily James

Script (3 more)

Lack of Premise Progression

Stale Use of Songs

Overshadowed, Bland Romance

A Beatle Bummer

In a ambitious musical fantasy shows Jack, played by Hamish Patel as a struggling musician looking to find a break in his career. With the help of his manager Ellie, played by Lily James, believes in his dream to stick by his side throughout the struggles. Jack gets hit by the bus and the world seems to have forgotten one of the most popular bands of all time: The Beatles. And now only Jack knows and tries to revive their catalogue for the world to hear again.

It is a pretty charming film throughout, and it really had a lot of strong performances to carry it's premise. Hamish Patel and Lily James have good chemistry, and there is a sense of history between them, as they have been good friends all of their lives, but never tried to put themselves in the next step. Lily James is the one who tries to pursue into that more, while Hamish is focused on himself and the music. Truthfully, there isn't a whole lot of depth besides that history. We are relied on this to carry the romance which is a huge factor of the movie. So much that it distracts everything else and both characters act irrational instead of acting like normal human beings and having a conversation.

It's a sharp film to look at. The lighting, production design, cinematography is wonderful. It has the Danny Boyle stamp on there, especially an obvious slanted shot in the beginning of the film. Even the score has trinkets of The Beatles layered throughout.

The script needed rewrites...there are many ways that this premise could've been successful, but after the film was over, it proved me wrong...this premise is troubling in many ways. There isn't a good way to progress this kind of story and I wanted the film to pursue the story from a fantasy perspective. Especially with something like Rocketman where the songs become part of its whole story. Every Beatles song after another sound so trite and it's because they lack the flavor of what they are genuinely about. It rushes through each one and uses a LOT of songs that it becomes a headache after a while. I think Hamish has a great voice for it, but I couldn't stand how the songs were treated throughout this movie. Especially with it's terrible third act where it becomes a huge, convenient mess for everyone. The script was simply bad.

I would wait for it if interested. Seeing it in a theater might give an impression for its great filmmaking, but a very hollow experience in my opinion.

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Dakotah Salazar (12 KP) rated Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) in Movies

Jul 6, 2019

Jaw Dropping Action (3 more)

Mysterio

Mid Credit Scene

Nice Romance

Road Trip Troupes (2 more)

Slow Start

End Credit Scene

Wrapping a bow on an excellent phase.

In Spider-Man's return from the Thanos 'blip' in Avengers Infinity War shows a different world for the MCU.

We are shown with a strong start. A mediocre high school presentation of how the world was affected by the blip, such as the age transitions of some characters. It was a great addition in wanting to expand the aftermath, and Spider-Man uses it humorously. But after that introduction becomes a run of the mill superhero film. At least for the first half.

We see a lot of troupes from this genre, or even road trip movies. Peter Parker is in pursuit for this outlandish plan of asking MJ out. While being a romantic, a force of nature called The Eternals are attacking the cities that Peter and his friends are venturing on. A figure called Mysterio saves Peter from the huge destruction creating a bond between the two heroes. Nick Fury is also caught in the mix as well wanting Peter to stop this problem. Peter refuses because he wants to be normal for a while. And you can't blame Peter. Especially after being snapped and revived to save the world from Thanos. Who wouldn't be tired? But it gets tiring when his only mission is to get MJ to like him when it is clear that she is giving him hints over and over again. It is sweet but becomes trite after a while. The humor is effective at points, but some moments can slow the movie down.

As for the second half, the film twists around with a strong second act. Probably some of the best action in the MCU to date. Yes, it even holds up to Endgame in some regards. It approaches into very psychedelic areas where you really are in the perspective of Peter. We see character depth, tension, and a stronger balance of humor thrown in. Plus a strong mid credit scene at the end which will please fans of Spider-Man. It will create a strong stir of events to come for Phase 4. For only Spider-Man...while we are left wondering what is going to come next for Marvel. In a way, it was kind of disappointing that there wasn't a stronger end credits stinger to help establish another Phase. While some say that it might, it only affects Spider-Man greatly.

As for newcomer Jake Gyllenhaal who is playing Mysterio. He is a veteran actor already playing down to an MCU film. Especially when he is recieving Oscar nominated performances. It was a weird situation for him to come in and play this character. I've had to analyze his performance and found it very strong throughout. He may be the best performance in this movie. Tom Holland and Zendaya had great chemistry throughout. They really gave a sense of an awkward teenage relationship trying to bloom out of their shyness, and while it was meandering after a while, it turned into something that was strong and a nice way of showing depth to their characters. The rest of the cast are there for comedic effect. Even Marisa Tomei's Aunt May is kind of sidelined here.

For any MCU fan, seek it out in a theater as soon as you can. It's a lot of fun. As for Spider-Man fans, it kind of sits in the middle when it comes to listing it. Especially after the triumphant Into the Spider Verse and Homecoming really defined who Spider-Man is.

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Dakotah Salazar (12 KP) rated The 'Burbs (1989) in Movies

Jul 1, 2019

The 'Burbs (1989)

1989 | Comedy, Mystery, Thriller

7.4

(25 Ratings)

Movie Rating

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Dakotah Salazar (12 KP) rated Dog Day Afternoon (1975) in Movies

Jul 1, 2019

Dog Day Afternoon (1975)

1975 | Crime, Drama, Thriller

8.3

(23 Ratings)

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Dakotah Salazar (12 KP) rated The Silence of the Lambs (1991) in Movies

Jul 1, 2019

The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

1991 | Horror, Thriller

8.8

(99 Ratings)

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Dakotah Salazar (12 KP) earned a new badge

Jul 1, 2019

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Dakotah Salazar (12 KP) rated the PlayStation 4 version of Crash Team Racing: Nitro Fueled in Video Games

Jul 1, 2019

Lively graphics (2 more)

Smooth controls

Fun game modes

Too easy (2 more)

Microtransactions galore

No new courses

Strong remaster. Easy for experts.

The original CTR holds a special place in my heart. As a child, I spent countless hours on my Playstation with many characters, tracks, and secrets to unlock. It truly is an incredible gaming experience.

Which is why I had to pick this up right away. And overall, it's a decent racer, but now were in the age of photo realistic racing games such as Forza, or living in the shadow of Mario Kart still in its multiplayer experience. Crash Team Racing has potential for expansion, but I was disappointed in that it's the same experience as before.

During the races, they are fast and lively. It brings the nostalgia in the controls and smooth gameplay. The power ups and attacks are the same, but are easy to operate. It also introduces the hyper slide, which may be difficult to master at first. The tracks don't give too much leverage in utilizing this. It could also be a disadvantage because it could ruin the flow of the race. It all depends really.

As for the modes, they have plenty to choose from. Adventure Mode, Online, Time Trial, etc. I would recommend this as a party game...because I think I could give the player a strong challenge. Adventure Mode, if you are an expert at this game, is WAY TOO EASY. I placed first in almost every race not trying to brag, but it doesn't challenge the player in anyway, even in the boss battles. Unless you are in a Single Race mode, then it offers an option of difficulty.

Characters to choose from is plentiful. Even adding options to modify the character and karts are wonderful designs. It's satisfying to earn them but if you are not an online player, then HALF of those modifications are not available to you. They depend on the usage of coins, which I'm assuming you can earn or purchase if your looking to earn the mods right away.

The game is a lot of fun. But I had to critically think about what the creators had for further potential. The remasters of the three original games were wonderful, but this is a copy and paste version of the original. It amplifies the nostalgia as a high, but once you come down, it really is a hollow experience.

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Zachary Wilson (3 KP) Jul 29, 2019

First off, this has no microtransactions as you don't use real money to buy anything. It's all the in game currency you earn. Sure the pit stop is set up like typical microtransactions, they're not microtransactions.

Also, Grand Prixs add new tracks. Twilight Tour is a new track they added from the first grand prix with much more grand prixs coming. So we can expect much more new tracks in the future as well as new characters and car parts. (Also the game isn't easy but I'm not an expert and never played the original.)

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