Rainbow Rocks is a great follow-up to last year's enjoyable Equestria Girls. While many a MLP fan will continue wishing for a full-blown pony-centered film (it's coming!), this spin-off series remains a reliably entertaining stand-in.
The action picks up in Rainbow Rocks right where it was left off in the previous film, and introduces a new set of baddies whom our intrepid horse heroines will need to combat with the... wait for it... Magic of Friendship!! With an established world, the action quickly gets moving and feels less like Friendship Is Magic re-hash, and more like an entirely new story.
The writing from series helm Meghan McCarthy remains enjoyable--though I ache for the day when they will give prolific series writer M.A. Larson a crack at the Girls--never dipping into the low-brow areas of children's entertainment, while maintaining the upbeat and positive messages which make this series so endearing. A good time is to be had for both young and old fans, and perhaps their chaperones, as their favorite characters each receive screen time and special winks and nods, all while the main drama plays out.
DHX Media have stepped up their Flash animation, yet again, giving the film a strikingly vibrant look to go along with its pop-musical theme. The many new songs from series composer Daniel Ingram are all excellent, as usual. And all the rest of the production falls into place like the well oiled machine which it has become.
Essentially, if you're a fan, you still will be. If you didn't care for the first film, Rainbow Rocks is better, but still not the Pony film you were hoping to see. And don't look now, but I'm pretty sure another one is coming next year... (stay for the credits)
Gods in Generals is a difficult film to classify. While it is a drama, it almost entirely lacks any kind of narrative. While it is a history picture, you don't learn much from it. The movie is exceptionally well directed, produced and acted, and it held my attention for all of its over 3 and a half hours. Yet, it wasn't especially compelling or recommendable.
What we're given in Gods in Generals is a long series of Civil War vignettes, from the South's point of view, and starring a recurring set of historical figures--notably, Generals Jackson & Lee. All of it is presented with great historical accuracy and was shot on location. I'm sure Civil War reenactment societies will get a huge thrill out of it.
For a general audience, though, the film is downright confusing. It jumps from one battle, or location, or battalion, or story, to another with no warnings and no transitions, except a caption at the bottom of the screen which tells us who and when this is. Unless you really know your Civil War history, you'll be utterly lost.
If you've got a lot of time to kill, it can be a good watch, but do know what you're getting into. It's not an action flick, nor a compelling drama. It's very nearly stock footage for a History channel special.
This is a very cute and fun, slightly rom-com, non-superhero film. Griff the Invisible is a movie about the psychological struggles of its everyday characters, rather than any kind of action. Being slightly hallucinogenic, you'll be slipping in and out of the delusions of some not-quite-normal people, and be confronted with the questions of what exactly is "normal," and is it wrong if you're not?
This is an extremely safe movie. They don't take chances, don't do anything surprising, and follow the same Marvel formula that you've already seen in The Avengers, Iron Man, Thor and whatever else you want to name. If you liked all that those had to offer, you'll find more of the same in store for you, here--though, perhaps not as much of it.
If I sound a bit ambivalent about the film, that's because I am. The technical production that they're putting on display is thoroughly impressive--yet, beyond that and the break-away, pop-culture, Family Guy-style gags, there's not much to sink your teeth into.
There are no wonderful character creations, like Robert Downey Jr's Iron Man or Tom Hiddleston's Loki. There is no story with a bit of deeper meaning, like Captain America 2. There are no stand-out memorable moments, like Joss Whedon gave us. It's all... very safe, almost timid. There are no risks taken; completely by the book, paint by numbers.
That's not to say that Guardians of the Galaxy is a poor film, because it's not. But it's not a particularly interesting film. I've seen it before, and seen it very recently. Swap the characters around, and you're watching any recent Marvel production. Will I remember it by next Summer? Probably not.
If you remember the golden age of family sci-fi, with films such as Flight of the Navigator, D.A.R.Y.L., or Explorers, then you will find yourself in fine company with Earth to Echo! At my showing, the kids and the adults were all jumping at the scares and laughing at the funnies in unison--just as it should be. Everyone was engrossed in the events happening on screen, from beginning to end. No watch checking. No restless youngsters.
This is a movie where the kids act like kids, the adults act like real human beings, and the creators were obviously having a rip-roaring good time in the process; a film that respects your intelligence and takes you on a truly wonderful journey (two things which the similarly-themed Super 8 completely failed to deliver, imo). It gave me something which few films have this year: A smile on my face as I left the theatre.
While Super 8 forgot its central premise--a group of kids making a movie--Earth to Echo keeps it front and center. If you've knocked around YouTube a lot, you've likely come across amateurish instructional videos and other things which are narrated by live typing things into WordPad, backtracking for corrections and all, and feature many other things which an adult would never begin to consider doing. That is the idea behind Earth to Echo, whose title screen is, yup!, typed in with WordPad; whose panning shots are done with Google Earth; whose whole production seems to come straight out of the mind of a 10 year-old. For once, that's a compliment!
Yes, the cute alien + kids concept has been done to death, but you have to respect a film which is created in such earnestness. Earth to Echo is a great movie, with or without the "kids/family" label. Go see it!
What initially drew me to The Signal was its comparison to Primer--one of the most intriguing sci-fi films of the past decade--by some critics. For much of the film, that comparison is very accurate.
The Signal offers a lot of the same down-to-earth realism, mystery, and low-key, drawn-out tension that made Primer such a riviting viewing experience. But then there's the last Act of the film... As much as the first 2 Acts had me completely entranced, Act 3 had me glancing at my watch. Without giving anything away, let's just say that it delves into the usual Hollywood trap of science-fiction, that offers lots of action, not much substance, and forgets all of the wonderful pacing and tension that was built up earlier in the film. Had it followed through with a consistent tone, I'd probably be recommending The Signal as a Film of the Year, because its cinematography, acting, and general concept are all fantastic and completely engrossing. But that last Act, man.... woof.
All of Godzilla's problems can be easily summed up in one issue: The main character.
Why we are meant to care about the antics of this generic Army grunt (or was it Navy?) is beyond me. He has no specific goals toward which he is pressing, and simply stumbles into one conveniently timed chance meeting after another, thrusting him into whatever plan the all-mighty US military has cooked up. I can't remember a single instance in which he did anything of his own volition, without being washed along in the flow of wherever chance happened to place him. This is not good character development! This is not good motivation! This is not good plotting! Yet for a good 2/3 of the film, we follow this generic grunt around as he does generic grunt things.
Are there any scientists who might have a comment about what's going on? Well, there's one, but everyone just ignores him until he's dropped from the narrative, once he says "Godzilla." Are there any side-characters we might be interested in following? Well, there's the wife, who stays at home, and makes sandwiches, or something. Are there any interesting leadership-type characters? One-minute scene, "Nuke 'em!" Hmm.
This film is at its best when it is setting the stage for events to come--which is done in an absolutely magnificent manner--and when the monsters are rampaging around, terrifying the little people. However, these brief glimpses of brilliance are quickly shoved aside for the Amazing Adventures of Captain Generic, as he hustles around with his military pals. Somewhere in the background, you might notice a giant lizard stomping about.
The differences between this and the Toho Godzilla films are simple: 1) The Toho films had likeable characters--even the '98 US 'Zilla had fun and memorable performances. And 2) the US Army is totally awesome(apparently)!!!!! Enlist today!
If you've seen the trailers for Edge of Tomorrow, you are familiar with the basic concept. Tom Cruise's character is sent into a battle against aliens and gains the ability to re-live that day every time he dies. This quick description covers approximately 90% of what you see in Edge of Tomorrow.
As some kind of recruiting agent, the military decides that it's a good idea to dump Tom on the front lines because...um, well that's never explained (maybe this is why humanity is losing?). Quite a lot is not explained in this movie, but let's forget about that for now, and talk about what you're supposed to concentrate on: the explosions. Over and over again, we get to see Tom run through the battlefield with Blondie McSoldier, his somewhat romantic interest and mentor in this affair. They kill aliens, he dies, and then...they kill aliens some more.
Over and over and over and over, explosions, shooting and Tom dying. A couple of these deaths are done in a humorous way, but overall it becomes a tiresome mechanic that long overstays its welcome. Somewhere along the way, we're told how they might beat the aliens by, you guessed it, explosions, shooting and dying. Also, with the deus ex machina that they eventually use, which could have been used at any point along the way, because the film has to end eventually.
I don't know what else there is to say about this movie. None of the characters are developed beyond "soldier," "girl," drill sergeant," "scientist," and the action becomes repetitious and boring about halfway through. To its credit, the aliens, mech armor, and battles all look very impressive. But with no background to the events, characters, or anything that's happening, I had a very difficult time becoming invested in any of it.
The Groundhog Day concept is not even the problem, as films such as Source Code have demonstrated. You can have action, repeating timelines, AND character development. Edge of Tomorrow falls into the usual Hollywood trap of simply throwing lots of CGI at the screen and hoping that it will be enough to carry the film. It's not. Audiences are more intelligent than this, and deserve better films.
It never really gets moving and plods along at the same pace throughout, which is its biggest downfall. You keep waiting for the tempo to pick up, but it never does. Scenes are bereft of actors to fill in the space, often having only one or two people standing in a room, trying to carry the film. That might be able to work under other circumstances, but this narrative can't support it.
Transcendence has a few good ideas, and feels a lot like an old 90s sci-fi thriller--a bit ham-fisted but not terrible. If you can overlook the cheesy opening, the lack of actors, the dodgy pacing, and some iffy effects, there are some good things going on, but they can be difficult to notice when you're falling asleep in boredom.
Pacific Rim becomes watchable when the characters stop talking. The Robot VS Alien fights are the only good part of this film, with amazing visual effects, and even those fights are not that interesting because of how terrible everything else is. The rest of the time, I'm honestly puzzled as to what they were trying to accomplish. Is this serious? Is it a parody? It is both too silly and not silly enough; neither one or the other. The direction and shot composition for the actors plays out like it's trying to be a serious film, yet they are behaving like rediculously overplayed character tropes, straight out of Saturday morning cartoon.
If you've had the misfortune to view scenes in Bollywood or other asian films where they needed a "white guy" for a quick scene, you've seen the result of them pulling the first English-speaking caucasian they found in a local gym and putting him in front of a camera: Baby's first acting lesson. Well, that is how everyone in this film acts all the time!! Is that what they were going for, assuming foriegn markets are used to it? Mixed in with this is rediculously cliched writing, with painfully unfunny comic relief moments.
The whole film plays out like it was made by someone who doesn't understand the films that they are ripping off; why they were good, why they're remembered fondly, or even what works in basic storytelling. This feels like a half-finished movie.
Geeks will love Tim's Vermeer. Tim's obsession with Johannes Vermeer is easily relatable to anyone who has become a little too obsessed with something. His attempt to recreate and prove the validity of a lost painting technique is both fascinating and humorous, as we follow him through the ups and downs of the long grind. In the end, it feels quite inspirational without seeming to try, and makes you feel like anyone can be a master, if you just try hard enough. I'm really glad I got to see this. It kind of makes me want to paint...
From the opening that involves silly-billy Spider-Man juggling 20 canisters in goofy poses, I knew something was off. By the time they trotted out the German-accented scientist to... be a German-accented scientist(?), I knew this was a purely comic-book affair. That is to say, it feels like the script is 20 pages long and filled with "BIFF!" & "KA-POW!" pictures.
If all you're looking for is Spider-Man swinging from buildings, a few explosions, muddy CGI, and a bit of teenage necking, then I'm sure you'll enjoy The Amazing Spider-Man 2.
If you're looking for a compelling story, sub-plots that are tied up by the end, competent direction, or a good musical score... The Amazing Spider-Man 1 is on store shelves now.
Even the color-scheme of this movie seems reminiscent of Batman & Robin. Was that on purpose? And why is there a commercial for a different movie in the end credits? I'll give them credit, I've never seen that before! Good grief....
I Bury the Living is a fantastic exercise is psychological horror, allowing dreadful knowledge to drive the action, rather than hack and slash. Clearly made on a very tight budget, the cinematography is fantastic and really pounds home the unbearable weight that is pressing down on the main character's psyche. Put it on during a cold, dark night and don't hit pause. It draws me in every time.
This is an anime that can answer the cynic's question, "If it were any good, why isn't it live action?"
Redline is the type of production that would be patently impossible to pull off with either live action or CGI animation, and something which could only come from Japan. It is balls-to-the-petal-to-the-metal crazy, looks and sounds astounding, and is a joyous thrill from beginning to end!
If you wanted to find something to complain about, the story is a bit thin, and some of the scenes are utterly ridiculous ("That could never happen," says the stick-in-the-mud). But this is a film that does not need to make sense. It is an exercise in pure rocking style! It will leave a smile on your face.
Never make the mistake of telling anyone that these are "good" movies. These are "fun" movies. Dhoom 3 is totally silly, over-the-top, well directed, and fun. If you can't enjoy an action-crime-comedy that features transforming rocket bikes, you have lost your inner child. I could nit-pick a lot of things in this film, but I do feel that I got my $10 worth, and then some. I'll take a colorful and joyful Bollywood cheese factory over Hollywood's dark and dank "heroes" any and every day. The sheer spectacle of Dhoom 3 is phenomenal, puts a smile on your face, and actually made me care about some of its characters. Enroll in the Dhoom School of Having A Good Time today!
I hate to break to to everyone, but Evangelion--both the series and this movie--is neither deep nor complex. It is a shallow alien-invasion robot mecha anime, written by a man battling depression, animated by a talented studio, which was mis-managed and ran out of money during production, leading to a finale that consisted mostly of clips from earlier in the series combined with minutes-long shots of a single frame of animation and nothing happening. They randomly threw in lots of Biblical and mythological names to make it seem "interesting and exotic" to Japanese people, never intending for it to be seen by Western audiences.
End of Evangelion is their re-try attempt for the final 2 episodes of the series, which they were forced to make because the fans of this unusual anime were so pissed off at what an underwhelming piece of crap they had been given for an ending, even vandalizing the animation studio.
In the writer/director's own words, this is what the show is about: http://wiki.evageeks.org/Statements_by_Evangelion_Staff#Hideaki_Anno:_What_were_we_trying_to_make_here.3F Note, there is nothing out of the ordinary there, aside from his obsession with being depressed. It is a giant robot show. That's all.
A typical scene of Evangelion might run something like this:
"The Magi have detected an Angel, Type Blue! Activate the Eva unit! We need the Lance of Longinus as specified in the Dead Sea Scrolls to defeat it! Activate the 666 Barrier or they might reach Central Dogma where Lilith, our source of Adam, is!!"
Translation:
"Computers have detected an alien presence, red alert! Prep the mechs for combat! We'll need to activate the super-weapon that we got from the alien technology to defeat it! Shields up! We can't let them into our core area of some importance, where we keep our captured alien!"
Yes, the animation is beautiful. Gainax is a very talented studio. However, the story is filled with annoying, unlikeable characters, constantly whining about their lot in life. My favorite must be Shinji, known for sitting in a corner and crying. He opens up the movie by visiting his friend who is in a coma and masturbating onto her chest. He's a really "deep and complex" character. The plot is, similarly, about an inch deep, and all the pseudo-Christian imagery in the world doesn't change that. To quote Roger Ebert: "If you have to ask what it symbolizes, it didn't." None of the questions from the series or this movie are explained, like "What the hell was going on?" It is thoroughly unsatisfying.
I'll admit, I almost enjoyed myself during the second quarter of the movie, when it was bordering on coherence. But after that, it all falls apart into a massive cluster-hump of pretentious, impenetrable symbolism that doesn't symbolize anything. A movie that begins with a character jerking off, ends with the director jerking off, and he's the only one having fun, assuming he wasn't still on suicide watch.
(feel free to call me an unintelligent rube who just doesn't "get" it)
I do love a good Roland Emmerich-directed big-screen spectacle. White House Down has its tongue planted firmly in-cheek, giving us a great One-Man Army, 80s-style run-and-gun-explosion-disaster-too-much-awesome-type movie. This is a film where you can expect the One-Man, at any given moment, to be engaged in fisticuffs with one baddie, while chucking grenades between his legs at another baddie, while a third baddie sneaks up from behind, but the One-Man is too clever and disarms him while simultaneously using the third baddie's weapon to take down a fourth baddie that you didn't see! It is utterly ridiculous and played completely for the sake of entertainment.
Of course, it wouldn't be an Emmerich disaster flick without a heaping dose of family drama, heroes being made from the most unlikely characters
The shotgun-toting tour guide was great! "The tour's over!" Ha ha. And that little powerhouse daughter! You go girl!
, and The End Of The World as we know it! With nods to his previous work, including an Independence Day shout-out, this is a great time for anyone willing to be entertained for the sake of entertainment. There's no deep message, just a whole heckuva lot of fun!
Loved this! It's not trying anything new, but what Marvel film does? The story was well paced with lots of memorable setpiece moments and good humor. The CGI effects--Asgard, in particular--are a huge improvement over the, frankly, rather bad effects from the first film. All the environments feel very natural, and not like a mediocre video game level. This is a completely solid comic book superhero adventure, and I'm glad to see that Disney has the chops to handle these films well, after the trainwreck that was Iron Man 3.
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Movie comment on My Little Pony: Equestria Girls - Rainbow Rocks
KuroSawWhat
Rainbow Rocks is a great follow-up to last year's enjoyable Equestria Girls. While many a MLP fan will continue wishing for a full-blown pony-centered film (it's coming!), this spin-off series remains a reliably entertaining stand-in.The action picks up in Rainbow Rocks right where it was left off in the previous film, and introduces a new set of baddies whom our intrepid horse heroines will need to combat with the... wait for it... Magic of Friendship!! With an established world, the action quickly gets moving and feels less like Friendship Is Magic re-hash, and more like an entirely new story.
The writing from series helm Meghan McCarthy remains enjoyable--though I ache for the day when they will give prolific series writer M.A. Larson a crack at the Girls--never dipping into the low-brow areas of children's entertainment, while maintaining the upbeat and positive messages which make this series so endearing. A good time is to be had for both young and old fans, and perhaps their chaperones, as their favorite characters each receive screen time and special winks and nods, all while the main drama plays out.
DHX Media have stepped up their Flash animation, yet again, giving the film a strikingly vibrant look to go along with its pop-musical theme. The many new songs from series composer Daniel Ingram are all excellent, as usual. And all the rest of the production falls into place like the well oiled machine which it has become.
Essentially, if you're a fan, you still will be. If you didn't care for the first film, Rainbow Rocks is better, but still not the Pony film you were hoping to see. And don't look now, but I'm pretty sure another one is coming next year... (stay for the credits)
Movie comment on Gods and Generals
KuroSawWhat
Gods in Generals is a difficult film to classify. While it is a drama, it almost entirely lacks any kind of narrative. While it is a history picture, you don't learn much from it. The movie is exceptionally well directed, produced and acted, and it held my attention for all of its over 3 and a half hours. Yet, it wasn't especially compelling or recommendable.What we're given in Gods in Generals is a long series of Civil War vignettes, from the South's point of view, and starring a recurring set of historical figures--notably, Generals Jackson & Lee. All of it is presented with great historical accuracy and was shot on location. I'm sure Civil War reenactment societies will get a huge thrill out of it.
For a general audience, though, the film is downright confusing. It jumps from one battle, or location, or battalion, or story, to another with no warnings and no transitions, except a caption at the bottom of the screen which tells us who and when this is. Unless you really know your Civil War history, you'll be utterly lost.
If you've got a lot of time to kill, it can be a good watch, but do know what you're getting into. It's not an action flick, nor a compelling drama. It's very nearly stock footage for a History channel special.
Movie comment on Griff the Invisible
KuroSawWhat
This is a very cute and fun, slightly rom-com, non-superhero film. Griff the Invisible is a movie about the psychological struggles of its everyday characters, rather than any kind of action. Being slightly hallucinogenic, you'll be slipping in and out of the delusions of some not-quite-normal people, and be confronted with the questions of what exactly is "normal," and is it wrong if you're not?Heavily recommended for fans of I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK, and vice versa.
Movie comment on Guardians of the Galaxy
KuroSawWhat
This is an extremely safe movie. They don't take chances, don't do anything surprising, and follow the same Marvel formula that you've already seen in The Avengers, Iron Man, Thor and whatever else you want to name. If you liked all that those had to offer, you'll find more of the same in store for you, here--though, perhaps not as much of it.If I sound a bit ambivalent about the film, that's because I am. The technical production that they're putting on display is thoroughly impressive--yet, beyond that and the break-away, pop-culture, Family Guy-style gags, there's not much to sink your teeth into.
There are no wonderful character creations, like Robert Downey Jr's Iron Man or Tom Hiddleston's Loki. There is no story with a bit of deeper meaning, like Captain America 2. There are no stand-out memorable moments, like Joss Whedon gave us. It's all... very safe, almost timid. There are no risks taken; completely by the book, paint by numbers.
That's not to say that Guardians of the Galaxy is a poor film, because it's not. But it's not a particularly interesting film. I've seen it before, and seen it very recently. Swap the characters around, and you're watching any recent Marvel production. Will I remember it by next Summer? Probably not.
Movie comment on Earth to Echo
KuroSawWhat
If you remember the golden age of family sci-fi, with films such as Flight of the Navigator, D.A.R.Y.L., or Explorers, then you will find yourself in fine company with Earth to Echo! At my showing, the kids and the adults were all jumping at the scares and laughing at the funnies in unison--just as it should be. Everyone was engrossed in the events happening on screen, from beginning to end. No watch checking. No restless youngsters.This is a movie where the kids act like kids, the adults act like real human beings, and the creators were obviously having a rip-roaring good time in the process; a film that respects your intelligence and takes you on a truly wonderful journey (two things which the similarly-themed Super 8 completely failed to deliver, imo). It gave me something which few films have this year: A smile on my face as I left the theatre.
While Super 8 forgot its central premise--a group of kids making a movie--Earth to Echo keeps it front and center. If you've knocked around YouTube a lot, you've likely come across amateurish instructional videos and other things which are narrated by live typing things into WordPad, backtracking for corrections and all, and feature many other things which an adult would never begin to consider doing. That is the idea behind Earth to Echo, whose title screen is, yup!, typed in with WordPad; whose panning shots are done with Google Earth; whose whole production seems to come straight out of the mind of a 10 year-old. For once, that's a compliment!
Yes, the cute alien + kids concept has been done to death, but you have to respect a film which is created in such earnestness. Earth to Echo is a great movie, with or without the "kids/family" label. Go see it!
Movie comment on Payload
KuroSawWhat
Movie comment on The Signal
KuroSawWhat
What initially drew me to The Signal was its comparison to Primer--one of the most intriguing sci-fi films of the past decade--by some critics. For much of the film, that comparison is very accurate.The Signal offers a lot of the same down-to-earth realism, mystery, and low-key, drawn-out tension that made Primer such a riviting viewing experience. But then there's the last Act of the film... As much as the first 2 Acts had me completely entranced, Act 3 had me glancing at my watch. Without giving anything away, let's just say that it delves into the usual Hollywood trap of science-fiction, that offers lots of action, not much substance, and forgets all of the wonderful pacing and tension that was built up earlier in the film. Had it followed through with a consistent tone, I'd probably be recommending The Signal as a Film of the Year, because its cinematography, acting, and general concept are all fantastic and completely engrossing. But that last Act, man.... woof.
Movie comment on The Sport Parade: Snow Thrills
KuroSawWhat
Movie comment on Godzilla
KuroSawWhat
All of Godzilla's problems can be easily summed up in one issue: The main character.Why we are meant to care about the antics of this generic Army grunt (or was it Navy?) is beyond me. He has no specific goals toward which he is pressing, and simply stumbles into one conveniently timed chance meeting after another, thrusting him into whatever plan the all-mighty US military has cooked up. I can't remember a single instance in which he did anything of his own volition, without being washed along in the flow of wherever chance happened to place him. This is not good character development! This is not good motivation! This is not good plotting! Yet for a good 2/3 of the film, we follow this generic grunt around as he does generic grunt things.
Are there any scientists who might have a comment about what's going on? Well, there's one, but everyone just ignores him until he's dropped from the narrative, once he says "Godzilla." Are there any side-characters we might be interested in following? Well, there's the wife, who stays at home, and makes sandwiches, or something. Are there any interesting leadership-type characters? One-minute scene, "Nuke 'em!" Hmm.
This film is at its best when it is setting the stage for events to come--which is done in an absolutely magnificent manner--and when the monsters are rampaging around, terrifying the little people. However, these brief glimpses of brilliance are quickly shoved aside for the Amazing Adventures of Captain Generic, as he hustles around with his military pals. Somewhere in the background, you might notice a giant lizard stomping about.
The differences between this and the Toho Godzilla films are simple: 1) The Toho films had likeable characters--even the '98 US 'Zilla had fun and memorable performances. And 2) the US Army is totally awesome(apparently)!!!!! Enlist today!
Movie comment on Rush Hour 3
KuroSawWhat
The credit roll outtakes are the funniest part of the film. Everything else was embarrassing to watch.Movie comment on Edge of Tomorrow
KuroSawWhat
If you've seen the trailers for Edge of Tomorrow, you are familiar with the basic concept. Tom Cruise's character is sent into a battle against aliens and gains the ability to re-live that day every time he dies. This quick description covers approximately 90% of what you see in Edge of Tomorrow.As some kind of recruiting agent, the military decides that it's a good idea to dump Tom on the front lines because...um, well that's never explained (maybe this is why humanity is losing?). Quite a lot is not explained in this movie, but let's forget about that for now, and talk about what you're supposed to concentrate on: the explosions. Over and over again, we get to see Tom run through the battlefield with Blondie McSoldier, his somewhat romantic interest and mentor in this affair. They kill aliens, he dies, and then...they kill aliens some more.
Over and over and over and over, explosions, shooting and Tom dying. A couple of these deaths are done in a humorous way, but overall it becomes a tiresome mechanic that long overstays its welcome. Somewhere along the way, we're told how they might beat the aliens by, you guessed it, explosions, shooting and dying. Also, with the deus ex machina that they eventually use, which could have been used at any point along the way, because the film has to end eventually.
I don't know what else there is to say about this movie. None of the characters are developed beyond "soldier," "girl," drill sergeant," "scientist," and the action becomes repetitious and boring about halfway through. To its credit, the aliens, mech armor, and battles all look very impressive. But with no background to the events, characters, or anything that's happening, I had a very difficult time becoming invested in any of it.
The Groundhog Day concept is not even the problem, as films such as Source Code have demonstrated. You can have action, repeating timelines, AND character development. Edge of Tomorrow falls into the usual Hollywood trap of simply throwing lots of CGI at the screen and hoping that it will be enough to carry the film. It's not. Audiences are more intelligent than this, and deserve better films.
Movie comment on Transcendence
KuroSawWhat
It never really gets moving and plods along at the same pace throughout, which is its biggest downfall. You keep waiting for the tempo to pick up, but it never does. Scenes are bereft of actors to fill in the space, often having only one or two people standing in a room, trying to carry the film. That might be able to work under other circumstances, but this narrative can't support it.Transcendence has a few good ideas, and feels a lot like an old 90s sci-fi thriller--a bit ham-fisted but not terrible. If you can overlook the cheesy opening, the lack of actors, the dodgy pacing, and some iffy effects, there are some good things going on, but they can be difficult to notice when you're falling asleep in boredom.
Movie comment on Pacific Rim
KuroSawWhat
Pacific Rim becomes watchable when the characters stop talking. The Robot VS Alien fights are the only good part of this film, with amazing visual effects, and even those fights are not that interesting because of how terrible everything else is. The rest of the time, I'm honestly puzzled as to what they were trying to accomplish. Is this serious? Is it a parody? It is both too silly and not silly enough; neither one or the other. The direction and shot composition for the actors plays out like it's trying to be a serious film, yet they are behaving like rediculously overplayed character tropes, straight out of Saturday morning cartoon.If you've had the misfortune to view scenes in Bollywood or other asian films where they needed a "white guy" for a quick scene, you've seen the result of them pulling the first English-speaking caucasian they found in a local gym and putting him in front of a camera: Baby's first acting lesson. Well, that is how everyone in this film acts all the time!! Is that what they were going for, assuming foriegn markets are used to it? Mixed in with this is rediculously cliched writing, with painfully unfunny comic relief moments.
The whole film plays out like it was made by someone who doesn't understand the films that they are ripping off; why they were good, why they're remembered fondly, or even what works in basic storytelling. This feels like a half-finished movie.
Movie comment on Tim's Vermeer
KuroSawWhat
Geeks will love Tim's Vermeer. Tim's obsession with Johannes Vermeer is easily relatable to anyone who has become a little too obsessed with something. His attempt to recreate and prove the validity of a lost painting technique is both fascinating and humorous, as we follow him through the ups and downs of the long grind. In the end, it feels quite inspirational without seeming to try, and makes you feel like anyone can be a master, if you just try hard enough. I'm really glad I got to see this. It kind of makes me want to paint...Movie comment on The Amazing Spider-Man 2
KuroSawWhat
From the opening that involves silly-billy Spider-Man juggling 20 canisters in goofy poses, I knew something was off. By the time they trotted out the German-accented scientist to... be a German-accented scientist(?), I knew this was a purely comic-book affair. That is to say, it feels like the script is 20 pages long and filled with "BIFF!" & "KA-POW!" pictures.If all you're looking for is Spider-Man swinging from buildings, a few explosions, muddy CGI, and a bit of teenage necking, then I'm sure you'll enjoy The Amazing Spider-Man 2.
If you're looking for a compelling story, sub-plots that are tied up by the end, competent direction, or a good musical score... The Amazing Spider-Man 1 is on store shelves now.
Even the color-scheme of this movie seems reminiscent of Batman & Robin. Was that on purpose? And why is there a commercial for a different movie in the end credits? I'll give them credit, I've never seen that before! Good grief....
Movie comment on I Bury the Living
KuroSawWhat
I Bury the Living is a fantastic exercise is psychological horror, allowing dreadful knowledge to drive the action, rather than hack and slash. Clearly made on a very tight budget, the cinematography is fantastic and really pounds home the unbearable weight that is pressing down on the main character's psyche. Put it on during a cold, dark night and don't hit pause. It draws me in every time.Movie comment on Redline
KuroSawWhat
This is an anime that can answer the cynic's question, "If it were any good, why isn't it live action?"Redline is the type of production that would be patently impossible to pull off with either live action or CGI animation, and something which could only come from Japan. It is balls-to-the-petal-to-the-metal crazy, looks and sounds astounding, and is a joyous thrill from beginning to end!
If you wanted to find something to complain about, the story is a bit thin, and some of the scenes are utterly ridiculous ("That could never happen," says the stick-in-the-mud). But this is a film that does not need to make sense. It is an exercise in pure rocking style! It will leave a smile on your face.
Movie comment on Dhoom: 3
KuroSawWhat
Never make the mistake of telling anyone that these are "good" movies. These are "fun" movies. Dhoom 3 is totally silly, over-the-top, well directed, and fun. If you can't enjoy an action-crime-comedy that features transforming rocket bikes, you have lost your inner child. I could nit-pick a lot of things in this film, but I do feel that I got my $10 worth, and then some. I'll take a colorful and joyful Bollywood cheese factory over Hollywood's dark and dank "heroes" any and every day. The sheer spectacle of Dhoom 3 is phenomenal, puts a smile on your face, and actually made me care about some of its characters. Enroll in the Dhoom School of Having A Good Time today!Movie comment on Sight
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Movie comment on Brain Divided
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Movie comment on Wind Mills
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Movie comment on Electroshock
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Movie comment on Shin seiki Evangelion Gekijô-ban: Air/Magokoro wo, kimi ni
KuroSawWhat
I hate to break to to everyone, but Evangelion--both the series and this movie--is neither deep nor complex. It is a shallow alien-invasion robot mecha anime, written by a man battling depression, animated by a talented studio, which was mis-managed and ran out of money during production, leading to a finale that consisted mostly of clips from earlier in the series combined with minutes-long shots of a single frame of animation and nothing happening. They randomly threw in lots of Biblical and mythological names to make it seem "interesting and exotic" to Japanese people, never intending for it to be seen by Western audiences.End of Evangelion is their re-try attempt for the final 2 episodes of the series, which they were forced to make because the fans of this unusual anime were so pissed off at what an underwhelming piece of crap they had been given for an ending, even vandalizing the animation studio.
In the writer/director's own words, this is what the show is about: http://wiki.evageeks.org/Statements_by_Evangelion_Staff#Hideaki_Anno:_What_were_we_trying_to_make_here.3F Note, there is nothing out of the ordinary there, aside from his obsession with being depressed. It is a giant robot show. That's all.
A typical scene of Evangelion might run something like this:
"The Magi have detected an Angel, Type Blue! Activate the Eva unit! We need the Lance of Longinus as specified in the Dead Sea Scrolls to defeat it! Activate the 666 Barrier or they might reach Central Dogma where Lilith, our source of Adam, is!!"
Translation:
"Computers have detected an alien presence, red alert! Prep the mechs for combat! We'll need to activate the super-weapon that we got from the alien technology to defeat it! Shields up! We can't let them into our core area of some importance, where we keep our captured alien!"
Yes, the animation is beautiful. Gainax is a very talented studio. However, the story is filled with annoying, unlikeable characters, constantly whining about their lot in life. My favorite must be Shinji, known for sitting in a corner and crying. He opens up the movie by visiting his friend who is in a coma and masturbating onto her chest. He's a really "deep and complex" character. The plot is, similarly, about an inch deep, and all the pseudo-Christian imagery in the world doesn't change that. To quote Roger Ebert: "If you have to ask what it symbolizes, it didn't." None of the questions from the series or this movie are explained, like "What the hell was going on?" It is thoroughly unsatisfying.
I'll admit, I almost enjoyed myself during the second quarter of the movie, when it was bordering on coherence. But after that, it all falls apart into a massive cluster-hump of pretentious, impenetrable symbolism that doesn't symbolize anything. A movie that begins with a character jerking off, ends with the director jerking off, and he's the only one having fun, assuming he wasn't still on suicide watch.
(feel free to call me an unintelligent rube who just doesn't "get" it)
Movie comment on White House Down
KuroSawWhat
I do love a good Roland Emmerich-directed big-screen spectacle. White House Down has its tongue planted firmly in-cheek, giving us a great One-Man Army, 80s-style run-and-gun-explosion-disaster-too-much-awesome-type movie. This is a film where you can expect the One-Man, at any given moment, to be engaged in fisticuffs with one baddie, while chucking grenades between his legs at another baddie, while a third baddie sneaks up from behind, but the One-Man is too clever and disarms him while simultaneously using the third baddie's weapon to take down a fourth baddie that you didn't see! It is utterly ridiculous and played completely for the sake of entertainment.Of course, it wouldn't be an Emmerich disaster flick without a heaping dose of family drama, heroes being made from the most unlikely characters
Movie comment on Thor: The Dark World
KuroSawWhat
Loved this! It's not trying anything new, but what Marvel film does? The story was well paced with lots of memorable setpiece moments and good humor. The CGI effects--Asgard, in particular--are a huge improvement over the, frankly, rather bad effects from the first film. All the environments feel very natural, and not like a mediocre video game level. This is a completely solid comic book superhero adventure, and I'm glad to see that Disney has the chops to handle these films well, after the trainwreck that was Iron Man 3.Thor 2 is a whole lot of fun!
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