Pretty much the most realistic superhero depiction out there, but also possibly the weirdest. When I say realistic, I mean that if some random guy really did decide to fight crime, he probably would just end up horribly injuring or killing innocent or undeserving people according to his own prejudices. The pointlessness of a single superhero is outlined rather well here, as well as what kind of person would actually go ahead and do it. But when I say it's a weird movie, I really mean it. Ellen Page's character is even stranger than Rainn Wilson's, and everything from the dialogue to the plot are just... odd. Still, worth a watch if you like superheroes, gore, strangeness, or all of the above.
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Some good humor and a great performance from Gleeson don't make up for a pretty dull plot. I have to say I was a bit taken off guard (ha!) by the Irish flavour of it all; while fresh and different, it was also a bit confusing. A plus and a minus at the same time, really. Really though, the whole film feels completely pointless, and the story could be summarized in a sentence. It's a decent watch for Gleeson and its oddities, but you won't really take anything out of it.
Stunning cinematography coupled with a wonderful story full of historical references. It's really not the kid movie that it initially appears to be: while it does often have a lighthearted tone, it's clearly just as aimed for adults as children. The themes are treated with surprising finesse, especially near the last third that left me feeling happy and nostalgic. The heavy use of digital effects is something new for Scorcese, as is the 3D, but as you might expect they are used exactly as they should: to serve the story rather than replace it. Really, this is just one of those perfectly crafted movies that "feel just right", and manage to surprise and delight you with its huge amount of heart.
Incredibly cheesy, but in the best way possible. At no point does the writing feel lazy or overly commercialized - merely old-fashioned and peppy to the point of being a little naive. The human singing parts sometimes have a slight sheen of awkwardness over them, most notably Amy Adams' solo about being alone. But then, the idea here is to put on a show; the Muppets are entertainers, showmen (showmuppets?), and they're all about the flash and dazzle. So in that respect, it really works, and there's barely anything that could have been done to make this any better of a Muppet comeback without betraying their original intent.
Another Batman game from Rocksteady, another masterpiece. While nothing is massively changed from the first game, everything is taken to the next level. For instance, the introduction of proper free-roaming as well as a ton more gadgets, villains and hidden things than last time around help it feel much larger in scope. The story, while comic-book cheesy, is spot-on for the tone and style of the game. While the Catwoman storyline wasn't nearly as intertwined with the main Batman one as I'd have liked, it was nonetheless quite fun, and a welcome addition. And then of course, there's just an extra coal of polish over what was already a ridiculously polished game. This studio is now in my top 3 without a doubt, and this game in my top 10.
I only played the Single Player, because I've already played the Multiplayer three times before. As far as I'm concerned, this is the best Single Player not just in the series, but in the heavily-scripted-modern-shooty-game genre. Every mission is huge and memorable and every mechanic is tight and perfectly timed. The story is fairly mediocre, but it has a few hidden gifts to fans of the series and is at the very least much less cheesy than Battlefield 3's was. However, at this point, total reinvention is the only way the next game will be worth playing.
This is essentially a less polished, less original take on Uncharted 2, but with a vastly superior melee system and vastly worse shooting sections. In fact, the shooting was so horribly terrible to play that I tended to just run around punching everyone. The melee is a take on Batman's best-in-class mechanics, but with the addition of environmental interaction (think slamming someone's head in a fridge door) and much less smooth (clipping and camera issues, among other things). The shooting though. Dear lord, it ruined Uncharted 1, and nearly did Uncharted 2, and they still haven't learned their lesson here. Random one-shot kills are frequent, and all enemies immediately shoot you with pinpoint accuracy if you so much as get seen from a kilometer away. I turned the difficulty all the way down to "Very Easy" and I still died frequently. Some of the worst shooting in any game I've played, and yet a larger percentage of the game was made up of it than Uncharted 2.
The one thing that this series does amazingly well is platforming and story. Both fall into formulaic predictability here. The fifth time Drake hangs on a metal pole that suddenly bends, it gets a little annoying. The twentieth time? Please. It's not awful by any means, but it isn't very thrilling. The story is even worse: nothing is really explained, including Drake's motivation for risking his life (despite the question being brought up numerous times). Is Drake really the good guy? The only reasons he could be doing all this are ego and money - arguably as bad as the villains' motivation. The ending is the same one as Uncharted 2... no, really, the exact same one. At no point did I ever really care.
Despite all this, the annoying thing with this game is how amazing it could've been, and yet how so very far from its potential the little mistakes it makes send it. It's basically the least original sequel that the incredible Uncharted 2 could've gotten, and that's a damn shame.
The biggest reason I liked this movie so much was how well its themes and questions lined up with my own. I haven't seen any other Woody Allen movies yet (I couldn't get past the first 30 minutes of Annie Hall), but I loved the way this movie approached culture and the arts, and I liked how idealist its take on romance was - in that sense, it was inspiring rather than realistic. Plus, the concept is simple but quite fun (try not to know it beforehand). Some good cinematography and acting rounded off the deal.
I've never been much of an advocate for the whole "CGI is ruining movies" thing, but seeing Apocalypse Now and this movie so close together has definitely presented a convincing case for it. Despite the insanely huge visual spectacle presented by the state-of-the-art visual and special effects teams on this movie, this was still probably the dullest movie I've seen all year. The LUDICROUS 2h30 running length was part of it, but the moronic story and patchwork script also had a lot to do with it. Further ruining any interest is the somehow-worse-than-Megan-Fox new female actress, and Shia's complete character change into some sort of PCP-fueled raving lunatic.
Maybe skim through the Bluray for the effects shots, but otherwise a complete and utter waste of time. Action has never lacked so much excitement.
Whatever you do, don't watch the Trailer. It's better going into this one without knowing what happens, and the trailer gives too much of the movie away. Suffice to say, if you like either horror or parodies, you will get a kick out of this. The main concept is brilliant, but would have been unsustainable had either the writing, directing or acting been even slightly off the mark. Here though, they all pull through excellently, managing to also throw in a good deal of heart as well. Great, fun little movie.
This is a strange one to grade. You see, the first 2 hours of this movie are among the best I've ever seen. The cinematography is astonishing: each frame is a work of art, and each scene has its own distinct look and feel. This owes a lot to the absolutely staggering live-action sets and set pieces; this simply wouldn't have been anywhere near as good with CG. The acting is top-class, each character feeling completely real - something essential to the movie's goal of truly showing what war is like. And by god, does it reach that goal: no other movie has as effectively communicated the emotions, the despair and the moral conflicts as this one. It avoids the clichés and replaces them with genuine grit.
But. The last 30 minutes are a strange thing. While the cinematography remains overwhelmingly gorgeous and the acting loses none of its authenticity, the tone and story of the film seem to go out the window. We are presented with a discomforting, ambiguous, anticlimactic sequence that goes against all the wonderful build-up of the last 2 hours.
I certainly get what Coppola was trying to achieve: without spoiling it, this sequence was attempting to play with the audience's emotions in such as way as to make them feel the conclusion rather than to actually have one. The entire point of the movie is that whatever happened in the first 2 hours would only lead to the circumstances of the last 30 minutes. But to me, that simply wasn't enough. I was getting gradually more excited at seeing what this mythical Col. Kurtz was going to be like, what motivated him... and the movie certainly implied that the answer would be massive! But no, instead we have an artsy confusing mess of an ending that airily attempts to deal with Marlon Brando's obesity, and only halfheartedly comes up with a few meandering sentences to explain what the whole journey had been for. It's disappointing.
That being said, the movie's strengths are still colossal enough to overshadow this glaring flaw. Perhaps I simply didn't get it, as others clearly loved the ending very much. To me, while it is a sad waste of potential, it isn't enough to cancel out the fact that this is probably the best war movie I've ever seen.
A bit of an odd movie, but its awkwardness is intentional and the effect is fascinating. You see, Fast and the Furious this is not. Indeed, there are but a few action scenes in the entire movie. The bulk of the movie is based on characters and silence, and there is very little dialogue from the main character. When the action does come, however, it is glorious and holds back no punches. It's basically the smart man's action movie.
It's a very classic story structure, and in the end it doesn't really have anything to say other than "don't be a selfish idiot". But still, it has a handful of deeply memorable scenes, some brilliant acting and cinematography and a story that stays interesting to the end. It's not hard to see why this is a classic.
I'm trying to think of a better-made action thriller, but I can't think of one. What is immediately striking about this movie is the stunning cinematography - every shot feels meticulously thought out. But it then becomes apparent that in terms of execution, this movie pretty much has it all: acting from everyone involved simply could not be better, the sound work is fantastically atmospheric and somehow always finds the perfect music, and the editing is as good as it gets - creative and mood-setting.
On the other hand, the story is fairly standard save for the intriguing premise, and pacing falters slightly near the middle. I found myself thinking, in the final minutes of the film, that my opinion of the movie would all depend on how it ends. The fact that I had a stupidly huge grin on my face when it did cemented my opinion that this is pretty much my favourite action thriller as far as execution goes.
As weird as "Chavs vs. Aliens" sounds, I don't think it would have been possible to pull this off any more successfully than this. The filmmaking reminded me of Edgar Wright's stylish fast-paced modern style, but with the humour ripped out and replaced with more badassery. Shots and editing are vivid, action sequences are original, the story is better than you might expect, and the alien design is just wonderful. Watch it.
I was led to believe this wasn't really a chick flick and that it was well written. The former wasn't so true, but I didn't really mind when I realized the latter was. The progression of the story is as predictable as they come, but the movie generally handles it rather well - character interaction feels real instead of being cookie-cutter people saying their lines and going home. Jokes are pretty funny, and the acting is on the whole solid for this type of movie (as is cinematography), but what really sells it is the heart brought by Wiig's writing/acting style. A good chick flick.
As jarringly different as the boss fights were, they merely required a different strategy than the rest of the game to be beaten. And as disapointing as the final choice of ending was, it was still but a minor detail. The reality is that this is an open world game like they just don't make them anymore: centered on being open to as many player styles as possible. Choice is everywhere, the possibilities are comparatively endless, and exploration is both satisfying and in-depth. Adding in the fact that the story is a poignant mix of philosophical, social, technological and political intrigue, as well as the excellent conversations and polished presentation, this becomes the best action-RPG in a very long time. It makes Mass Effect seem silly in comparison.
Considering how difficultly nerdy the subject matter is, it's surprising how good this movie turned out. It wasn't particularly dumbed down, yet it came off as logical and cool. Sure, there's the usual Hollywood cheese at parts (like characters showing up out of nowhere and catching our hero's hand before he falls into the abyss), but the way the story is structured and handled was tasteful and original. Like Captain America before it, this sets up The Avengers wonderfully and builds a compelling character and mythos.
This is kind of a strange movie: the ape parts are absolutely genius, but anything that has to do with humans is garbage. The humans storylines are incredibly stupid: labs never sedate dangerous chimps, employees get to take home experimental drugs on a whim, there are no security measures, everything is made of glass, and everybody is a one-dimensional caricature that has never learned about foresight. I could write multiple pages on all the stupid decisions and actions made by humans in this film that would never even have been considered in real life. It's a bit weird that we're rooting for the apes by the end and want to see the humans fall. And of course, there's the usual sign of terrible writing where characters look dramatically at each other instead of talking which would literally fix everything.
HOWEVER. The ape sections truly are stunning. The Avatar mo-cap is excellently used, leading to some of the most thrilling scenes I've seen in a movie this year. Ceasar the chimp feels incredibly real, and you truly feel for him, moreso than any other animal I've seen in a movie. The effects work is exemplary save for the usual strange slight "WETA sheen" that seems to be in everything that company touches (most obvious with King Kong).
So I'd say definitely see it for the apes.
Pretty much exactly what it looks like (that is, a standard talking-animal kid's movie), but it does bring some genuine heart and humor that aren't all that easy to come by in this genre anymore. It's also ridiculously colourful and has great cinematography, so I'd say it's worth watching if you just want a simple little feel-good film.
A smart, exciting sci-fi thriller with some good performances from the main cast and an intriguing premise. It brings a lot of originality and wit that are hard to come by in Hollywood these days, and features some great twists. It gets a little lost in its own premise by the end, but the effect is nonetheless deep and lasting.
Surprisingly fun and well-handled. Captain America was always going to be a difficult character to treat without coming off as incredibly cheesy, so setting this movie in WWII was a stroke of genius, as was the whole way he evolved into having such a cheesy costume and name. The second half of the movie degrades into pretty standard B-Movie summer blockbuster action, but the ending is excellent and leads excellently into The Avengers.
Well that was anticlimactic. Here for once you have this massive large-scale epic, full of revelations and twists and action, and the movie cut most of it out? How incredibly dumb. Moments that everyone loved in the book are here lazily thrown in, almost as if you hear Yates complaining, "Do I have to?". Others are cut completely for no worthwhile reason, and entire plot revelations that cast much of the series in a new light in the books are here cut out. What you're left with is a short and mostly unseen battle scene, a final fight that no longer makes any real sense or impact, and a hilarious makeup-job ending.
Still, it's not all bad, as the first half of the movie is actually pretty good at depicting hollowed-out version of events from the book. Despite this, this toned down film making has convinced me that years from now, nobody will really remember the Harry Potter films particularly fondly. They will never be the classics they could've been.
Not bad. Considering how little action this part of the book had, it was definitely handled in a satisfactory way and with decent character development. Unlike every previous entry in the series, it doesn't feel like faint whisper of the book's greatness - it's still nowhere near as good, but it definitely held its own. Some surprising performances from the cast round off the whole thing as being "satisfactory".
"So, a Back to the Future adventure game, huh? Doesn't sound all that great. I mean, the movies had a very unique feel to them, and it's not like these guys would be able to recapture th-" Yeah, I'm just gonna cut you off now, because this is very much the Back to the Future you (most likely) cherish, and very much as enjoyable as the movies. It's the perfect sequel, made better by the fact that it's longer (5 episodes clocking it at 2-3 hours each) and in video game form. Indeed, only through a video game could the feel of the movies have been pulled off so well; fresh and different, but familiar and fitting. It's not one of those super-hard, inaccessible old school adventure games, either: pretty much anyone can play through this no problem, and puzzles are in almost all cases very logical and require thinking as opposed to random luck.
If you like Back to the Future, you should play this whether you like adventure games or not.
Eric's Reviews
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- I watch a ton of movies and TV Shows and play a ton of games, which is rather unproductive. So, I have decided to review as many things as I can, to at least get something that might be useful to others out of it. Sorry if I end up bashing a movie you like, as I'm in critic mode when I write here. In reality, I can enjoy every movie, even zero star ones! Hope you enjoy the site!
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