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Post by mortimer605 on Apr 1, 2017 18:37:56 GMT
You haven't seen Prometheus ? Marshall-Green was Ok in it, although a bit annoying and in my opinion - miscast.
No I haven't. I love the Alien movies but for some reason I never got around to watching this. Did I miss out on something special?
It's worth watching for fantastic visuals and to see Fassbender's excellent performance as enigmatic android (nice homage to Peter O'Toole and Lawrence of Arabia). If you want to watch Alien:Covenant this summer I recommend this as prologue. Yeah, some scenes are a bit cringe-worthy and Charlize, Idris Elba and Guy Pearce were wasted but movie as a whole is enjoyable Lovecraftian fun. It's almost like Roger Korman's monster movie from 1960s but with 21.century visuals. And 2-3 scenes are truly magnificent, a visual fest. Obviously flawed but still much better than 70% of Hollywood junk. I rate it 7.5 out of 10.
You gave a chance to Suicide Squad, why not to this ? :) Compared to that Prometheus is almost The Godfather.
(Fassbender addresses to Noomi's character as "Lisbeth" in one scene although her name is Elizabeth  )
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Post by Lex Salander on Apr 2, 2017 0:14:42 GMT
My review of The Discovery.
The Discovery was one of my most anticipated films of 2017. With its talented cast, its very intriguing premise trailer, it looked like an interesting and unique movie at the very least. After finally watched this movie, I have to say, it didn’t disappoint. The acting, direction and most of the story was great. There were a couple of aspects which didn’t work well but it’s not enough to affect the overall viewing experience in a major way.
The premise about the aftermath after the discovery of the afterlife is very interesting, and I was invested throughout the entire running time. I never felt bored or confused in the movie (I was however confused at the end but I’ll get to that later). Each twist and turn only increased my curiosity in what direction the film was going in next. For the most part this movie works very well. That’s not to say that everything was as good as it could’ve been. The film does rely on a lot of exposition and while I liked it, I felt like there was too much of it. And then there is the ending… I’m still not sure what I think about it. The ending does add yet another twist to the numerous other twists in the movie. It is such a big twist; however the film doesn’t really allow much time for this twist to play out before the movie ends. The twist itself is one that I’m a little confused about, and I wasn’t sure about what the ending meant. Overall, I guess I sort of liked the ending but I do think it should’ve been handled better.
The acting in this movie is great overall but Rooney Mara delivered the most stand out performance out of everyone. Rooney played her role incredibly well, she also had a lot of humorous moments and lines. Her character was the one I was most interested in throughout. She and Jason Segal played off each other and had great chemistry. Segal was pretty good, however he did feel like a weak link, I’m not sure why it feels that way. Possibly slightly miscast, but he wasn’t bad. Robert Redford is always great, and does have quite a presence here. Other actors like Jason Plemons and Riley Keough were good but they were underused.
The direction and cinematography were great, this film is visually beautiful, both in regard to the way that the film was shot as well as the locations chosen. This film also has this almost eerie feel to it, which is helped by it’s score. I don’t know why but this really made me even more invested and interested in the movie.
The Discovery is very intriguing and interesting throughout. The acting was great (especially from Rooney Mara), the direction by Charlie McDowell is really good, and the story was really riveting. There are some problems I have with the movie, especially with the way they handled the ending but what it gets right, it gets right so well. I definitely recommend giving it a view, it’s now on Netflix. Not everyone loves this movie, but it might just surprise you.
9/10
My review at youngcinemabuffs.wordpress.com/2017/04/02/the-discovery-2017-review/ |
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Post by RedSparrow on Apr 2, 2017 9:11:48 GMT
No I haven't. I love the Alien movies but for some reason I never got around to watching this. Did I miss out on something special?
It's worth watching for fantastic visuals and to see Fassbender's excellent performance as enigmatic android (nice homage to Peter O'Toole and Lawrence of Arabia). If you want to watch Alien:Covenant this summer I recommend this as prologue. Yeah, some scenes are a bit cringe-worthy and Charlize, Idris Elba and Guy Pearce were wasted but movie as a whole is enjoyable Lovecraftian fun. It's almost like Roger Korman's monster movie from 1960s but with 21.century visuals. And 2-3 scenes are truly magnificent, a visual fest. Obviously flawed but still much better than 70% of Hollywood junk. I rate it 7.5 out of 10.
You gave a chance to Suicide Squad, why not to this ? :) Compared to that Prometheus is almost The Godfather.
(Fassbender addresses to Noomi's character as "Lisbeth" in one scene although her name is Elizabeth )
Thanks for reminding me I paid to watch that thing :cringe: Ok, I'll watch it. But if I hate it, then the blame would be on you :anger2: {Spoiler!}  |
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Post by Lex Salander on Apr 7, 2017 10:20:54 GMT
My review of Beauty and the Beast (2017)
Although Beauty and the Beast was on my most anticipated films of 2017 list, it was a movie I was feeling mixed about. It had a lot of potential with it having a good cast. At the same time though, it’s yet another live action adaptation of a Disney movie, which feels like just another cash grab. Overall that’s pretty much what this movie is, it’s not necessarily a bad movie though. On the contrary actually, it’s a pretty decent movie. The acting and most of the execution worked really well. However some of the directional decisions made were rather questionable and took me out of the movie.
The story was good overall, I had no real problems with it. With that said, from what I can tell, this story follows the original story quite closely. So, I don’t take much issue with the story itself, it was some of the decisions made in delivering that story that I felt a little mixed about. I personally liked the second act the most (though again that’s most likely due to the directional decisions being the best).
The acting was generally good all around. Emma Watson did a pretty good job as Belle, I still saw her as Hermoine Granger as Belle, but she did well in her role. Dan Stevens was also really good. Most of the time he is under a lot of makeup and costume but yet is able to convey emotion underneath all that. Luke Evans was great as Gaston, it was a larger than life performance, it was very over the top, which it did take me out of the movie. But from what I can tell it is still less over the top than other versions of Gaston. I will say that Evans fully embraced the role. The standouts to me were Ewan McGregor and Ian McKellan, they were voicing Lumiere and Cogsworth respectively and were quite entertaining.
I like most of the directional decisions made. The effects involving the Beast were very effective, I’m not sure how they did it, but they managed to make it so that Stevens could be able to express his emotions through it. The costume design was great overall. The CGI was effective for the most part, although some of the CGI in the last act was a little fake. I liked most of the musical number. Despite many of the directional decisions I liked, there were some very over the top elements that took me out of the movie, such as the opening Belle song and the last act. Now I haven’t seen the original film, so I can’t tell if some of the decisions were to pay homage to the original film. But either way with some I just couldn’t get into it.
Beauty and the Beast was a pretty good movie overall, with the acting and most of the directional decisions made being decent. I did however have a lot of issues with some of the directional ideas chosen, these ideas really took me out of the movie. As I said, it was not necessary for this movie to exist, it’s yet another okay enough live action Disney adaptation. But despite it being unnecessary, I still think that overall I think it’s a decent movie and if you are a fan of the original film and are interested in seeing this version, see it. You’ll most likely like it a lot.
My review at my blog at youngcinemabuffs.wordpress.com/2017/04/07/beauty-and-the-beast-2017-review/ |
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Post by Lex Salander on Apr 9, 2017 7:34:31 GMT
My review for Life
Life was a movie I was curious about. This movie did seem very familiar and similar to other sci-fi horror movies, but because of the very talented cast involved, I was willing to check it out. I have to say, Life actually surprised me quite a bit. It’s nothing really that special and it is quite predictable. However, the film did carry out its story quite well, with its pretty good direction, great acting and actually some scary scenes.
The first act of the movie was rather slow and really didn’t interest me. As soon as the alien starts to attack, that’s when the movie started to really get my attention, that’s when the film really picked up. Most of the movie is fairly predictable, with the exception with something that happens at the end of the first act and the ending of the film, you can just tell what’s going to happen, though a lot of that has to do with the fact that we’ve seen so many of these types of movies, so we can usually tell what direction it’s going in. The film is quite effective with its scares (I’ll go into more detail later on). Overall the execution of this story is what makes this movie work so well.
This movie has a small but talented cast with Jake Gyllenhaal, Rebecca Ferguson, Ryan Reynolds, Hiroyuki Sanada, Ariyon Bakare and Olga Dihovichnaya. The characters they play aren’t really that interesting and due to the writing, there’s not much reason to care about them, aside from the fact that they are characters who are stuck in this situation. But the actors do a great job in their roles despite the lack of development in their characters.
This film is directed by Daniel Espinosa who has directed some movies which I haven’t seen but I’ve heard are ‘okay’ (Safe House, Child 44). I will say that with Life he did a really good job. This film is shot well, the CGI is used quite effectively. Direction-wise, the only issue I had was early in the movie, there is an unnecessary long take shot. These can be quite impressive but it wasn’t really needed at that moment, and it’s not even like the film featured these types of shots throughout, it was a one-off, and wasn’t needed. That’s really it though. This film handles its tension quite well, while the film does have it’s jumpscares, it wasn’t the majority of the scares, and the jumpscares never really felt forced or obnoxious. I found the most effective scares came from the alien itself. The alien itself is quite effective, the way it moved, the way it looked, the movie made it seem like an unstoppable and terrifying force. Plus, we don’t exactly know exactly what it is, the unknown element really helped with the horror.
Life is not one of the greatest sci-fi horror movies out there, it does take a lot from superior sci-fi horror movies like Alien and it is rather predictable throughout. However, if you do like these type of movies, I would recommend that you check out Life. The acting from its talented cast is good, the direction is solid but most of all, this movie is also actually scary, with a very dangerous and threatening antagonist.
My review for Life at my blog at youngcinemabuffs.wordpress.com/2017/04/09/life-2017-review/ |
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Post by RedSparrow on Apr 10, 2017 13:30:57 GMT
My review for Life
Life was a movie I was curious about. This movie did seem very familiar and similar to other sci-fi horror movies, but because of the very talented cast involved, I was willing to check it out. I have to say, Life actually surprised me quite a bit. It’s nothing really that special and it is quite predictable. However, the film did carry out its story quite well, with its pretty good direction, great acting and actually some scary scenes.
The first act of the movie was rather slow and really didn’t interest me. As soon as the alien starts to attack, that’s when the movie started to really get my attention, that’s when the film really picked up. Most of the movie is fairly predictable, with the exception with something that happens at the end of the first act and the ending of the film, you can just tell what’s going to happen, though a lot of that has to do with the fact that we’ve seen so many of these types of movies, so we can usually tell what direction it’s going in. The film is quite effective with its scares (I’ll go into more detail later on). Overall the execution of this story is what makes this movie work so well.
This movie has a small but talented cast with Jake Gyllenhaal, Rebecca Ferguson, Ryan Reynolds, Hiroyuki Sanada, Ariyon Bakare and Olga Dihovichnaya. The characters they play aren’t really that interesting and due to the writing, there’s not much reason to care about them, aside from the fact that they are characters who are stuck in this situation. But the actors do a great job in their roles despite the lack of development in their characters.
This film is directed by Daniel Espinosa who has directed some movies which I haven’t seen but I’ve heard are ‘okay’ (Safe House, Child 44). I will say that with Life he did a really good job. This film is shot well, the CGI is used quite effectively. Direction-wise, the only issue I had was early in the movie, there is an unnecessary long take shot. These can be quite impressive but it wasn’t really needed at that moment, and it’s not even like the film featured these types of shots throughout, it was a one-off, and wasn’t needed. That’s really it though. This film handles its tension quite well, while the film does have it’s jumpscares, it wasn’t the majority of the scares, and the jumpscares never really felt forced or obnoxious. I found the most effective scares came from the alien itself. The alien itself is quite effective, the way it moved, the way it looked, the movie made it seem like an unstoppable and terrifying force. Plus, we don’t exactly know exactly what it is, the unknown element really helped with the horror.
Life is not one of the greatest sci-fi horror movies out there, it does take a lot from superior sci-fi horror movies like Alien and it is rather predictable throughout. However, if you do like these type of movies, I would recommend that you check out Life. The acting from its talented cast is good, the direction is solid but most of all, this movie is also actually scary, with a very dangerous and threatening antagonist.
My review for Life at my blog at youngcinemabuffs.wordpress.com/2017/04/09/life-2017-review/ I will see this, just for Jakey. He's so talented and deserves a lot better than what he gets/chooses to do. |
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Post by mortimer605 on Apr 10, 2017 15:50:01 GMT
My review for Life
Life was a movie I was curious about. This movie did seem very familiar and similar to other sci-fi horror movies, but because of the very talented cast involved, I was willing to check it out. I have to say, Life actually surprised me quite a bit. It’s nothing really that special and it is quite predictable. However, the film did carry out its story quite well, with its pretty good direction, great acting and actually some scary scenes.
The first act of the movie was rather slow and really didn’t interest me. As soon as the alien starts to attack, that’s when the movie started to really get my attention, that’s when the film really picked up. Most of the movie is fairly predictable, with the exception with something that happens at the end of the first act and the ending of the film, you can just tell what’s going to happen, though a lot of that has to do with the fact that we’ve seen so many of these types of movies, so we can usually tell what direction it’s going in. The film is quite effective with its scares (I’ll go into more detail later on). Overall the execution of this story is what makes this movie work so well.
This movie has a small but talented cast with Jake Gyllenhaal, Rebecca Ferguson, Ryan Reynolds, Hiroyuki Sanada, Ariyon Bakare and Olga Dihovichnaya. The characters they play aren’t really that interesting and due to the writing, there’s not much reason to care about them, aside from the fact that they are characters who are stuck in this situation. But the actors do a great job in their roles despite the lack of development in their characters.
This film is directed by Daniel Espinosa who has directed some movies which I haven’t seen but I’ve heard are ‘okay’ (Safe House, Child 44). I will say that with Life he did a really good job. This film is shot well, the CGI is used quite effectively. Direction-wise, the only issue I had was early in the movie, there is an unnecessary long take shot. These can be quite impressive but it wasn’t really needed at that moment, and it’s not even like the film featured these types of shots throughout, it was a one-off, and wasn’t needed. That’s really it though. This film handles its tension quite well, while the film does have it’s jumpscares, it wasn’t the majority of the scares, and the jumpscares never really felt forced or obnoxious. I found the most effective scares came from the alien itself. The alien itself is quite effective, the way it moved, the way it looked, the movie made it seem like an unstoppable and terrifying force. Plus, we don’t exactly know exactly what it is, the unknown element really helped with the horror.
Life is not one of the greatest sci-fi horror movies out there, it does take a lot from superior sci-fi horror movies like Alien and it is rather predictable throughout. However, if you do like these type of movies, I would recommend that you check out Life. The acting from its talented cast is good, the direction is solid but most of all, this movie is also actually scary, with a very dangerous and threatening antagonist.
My review for Life at my blog at youngcinemabuffs.wordpress.com/2017/04/09/life-2017-review/ I will see this, just for Jakey. He's so talented and deserves a lot better than what he gets/chooses to do.
Hard to believe Jake has only one Oscar nomination so far. He is one of top 5 actors in Hollywood right now. Sheesh Academy 
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Post by RedSparrow on Apr 10, 2017 18:48:55 GMT
I will see this, just for Jakey. He's so talented and deserves a lot better than what he gets/chooses to do.
Hard to believe Jake has only one Oscar nomination so far. He is one of top 5 actors in Hollywood right now. Sheesh Academy
What a career he has had so far. He has so much to offer as an actor that I can't wait to see. I hope Rooney works with him someday. |
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Post by Lex Salander on Apr 14, 2017 0:32:47 GMT
My review of Watchmen
I’m a big fan of Zack Snyder. I loved Batman v Superman (the Ultimate Edition was of course the far superior version), Man of Steel, 300 and many of his other movies. However, I have to say that Watchmen is undisputedly his masterpiece. Alan Moore’s unique story was adapted incredibly well (not a perfect adaption of the comic, but the best that we’ll probably ever get). It was not only riveting and entertaining, it was something really special for the comic book movie genre. Although Watchmen was polarising to most people upon it’s initial release, it has gained a cult following (deservedly so), and I am certain that the film will only receive more love as the years go on. In my eyes it’s the best comic book movie ever created.
First thing you should know is that Watchmen isn’t exactly a conventional superhero film. Sure it has beautiful visuals, action scenes and people who dress up in costumes and engage in fights but it’s still not quite like other superhero movies you’ve seen. It’s one of the few superhero movies that I would call a drama (like The Dark Knight, Logan, Batman v Superman Ultimate Edition). This film shows what it would be like if heroes really existed in our world (the standout being of Billy Crudup’s Dr Manhattan, truly fascinating character arc). The film – like the graphic novel – accurately displays the flaws in the superhero. Every character (at least the main characters) have visible flaws, making them quite interesting and feel like real people; it’s interesting watching their stories. It also should be known before going in that this movie is very dark, It’s the darkest and most violent of all the comic book movies ever made (that or Sin City). It’s a bleak world this film inhabits. This film wouldn’t have been as effective if they tried to make it a PG-13/M rated movie, Snyder firmly stuck with an R rating, allowing them to take the story to many levels (in terms of the story, tone and violence). While this turned off many of the viewers, I think that decision really benefited the movie overall.
This movie did have a lot to work with, it being based on Alan Moore’s Watchmen. I have read the graphic novel and I personally think that the film adapted it quite well, the changes made worked well. Some of the themes and aspects of the story were changed which made it work as a movie. While Alan Moore’s Watchmen tackled comic books, Zack Snyder’s Watchmen tackled comic book movies. Also, there are some ways that this movie improves over the graphic novel, especially the ending (if you’ve seen the movie and read the graphic novel, you’ll know exactly what I mean). I pretty much love everything about this movie. The plot kept me interested from start to finish, despite the long runtime I didn’t feel bored (however I do think that the Director’s Cut, which includes 24 minutes of additional footage, is better paced). I honestly think that Watchmen is the best comic book movie yet.
One thing I really like is the casting, these actors weren’t well known when they were cast. No one here is an A-lister and so it’s so much easier to see these actors as their characters. The acting by everyone was very impressive but there were particularly a few stand out performances for me. Firstly, Jackie Earle Haley as the vigilante Rorschach. Even with a mask on his face for most of his screentime he conveys so much with his movements, mannerisms and his voice (especially the voice). Rorschach is a disturbed, almost psychopathic character but yet he’s one of my favourite characters in the whole story, and I’m not alone with that. It’s one of the best comic book performances I’ve seen. Another great performance was from Jeffery Dean Morgan as the character of The Comedian. This character was a nihilistic force of nature, one of the most fascinating characters in the story. Even though he is despicable, a lot of what he says is true, in a very twisted way. Morgan portrayed him excellently, definitely a scene stealer.
The other stand out performance was Billy Crudup was Dr Manhattan, who is such a super powered being. For most of Crudup’s screentime he is motion captured but despite this, Crudup manages to give a compelling performance, he definitely left an impression. His character is very fascinating and Crudup did a perfect job with him. Other actors like Patrick Wilson, Malin Akerman, Matthew Goode and Carla Gugino were also were great in their roles. Matthew Goode also stood out, also in the way that the story turned out (won’t spoil anything here). His performance and character I think is particularly underrated.
The direction of Watchmen is so excellent. As this is Zack Snyder, you can expect the visuals to be great. The cinematography by Larry Fong is absolutely fantastic as always. The use of colours and shadows were so beautiful, it’s like the scenes were ripped straight out of a comic book, which Zack Snyder does very well. The action and fight scenes were also directed greatly, the choreography was so excellent and works so well with the movie (however I will say that occasionally Snyder does use just a little bit too much slowmotion). The CGI in Watchmen is also great overall but I particularly want to draw attention to the motion captured CGI used on Dr Manhattan, it was so well implemented in the film. It was really the only way to bring Dr Manhattan to life and it worked incredibly well (of course it was also helped by Billy Crudup’s acting). The score by Tyler Bates was also great and fitted so many of the scenes. Also previously existing songs worked very well in the film, such as ‘Unforgettable’ for the opening scene. While on the subject of classic songs used in Watchmen, the opening credits sequence (which features Bob Dylan’s ‘The Times they are a-Changin’, is truly excellent, as it shows the history of the Watchmen through brief clips and snapshots. The graphic novel did contain that history but it would be near impossible to show it in the movie. However without any lines of dialogue, Snyder successfully portrayed that on screen and it is beautiful. It’s one of the all time best opening credits scenes ever. I loved every single scene of this movie, the only moment that really didn’t work for me was a sex scene between Nite Owl (Patrick Wilson) and Silk Spectre (Malin Akerman) to the sound of Hallelujah, which was… odd. I guess it was meant to be over the top and hilarious but I’m not sure… I loved everything else though.
Watchmen is my all time favourite Comic Book Movie. With Zack Snyder’s great direction, the excellent performances as well as the fascinating, riveting and overall brilliant story makes this one of my favourite movies of all time. Watchmen isn’t for everyone, it’s not a conventional superhero film, it is slower paced, it’s very dark and brutal (probably the darkest superhero movie out there) and the story is a lot different from what most would expect. But I do think that it is worth a watch. If you’re going to watch this movie, I highly recommend the Director’s Cut, even though I loved the Theatrical Cut, the extended version makes the film much better overall (I haven’t seen the Ultimate Cut yet, so I can’t judge that version).
My review of Watchmen at my blog at youngcinemabuffs.wordpress.com/2017/04/14/watchmen-2009-review/ |
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Post by RedSparrow on Apr 14, 2017 6:29:33 GMT
Lex Salander I want to know what your thoughts are on BvS and SS. I didn't like either of them, but BvS was definitely 1000x better. Ben made a good Batman and that's pretty much it for me.
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Post by Lex Salander on Apr 14, 2017 9:02:17 GMT
Lex Salander I want to know what your thoughts are on BvS and SS. I didn't like either of them, but BvS was definitely 1000x better. Ben made a good Batman and that's pretty much it for me. I loved Batman v Superman when I saw it in theatres but I will say that the Ultimate Edition (with 30 minutes of extra footage) is vastly superior. In retrospective the theatrical cut did cut out a lot of parts (a lot of Superman's arc was cut out), including some of the critical scenes, so that version does have many flaws. The Ultimate Edition really does elevate BvS to me. However no matter which version, BvS went a lot deeper as a movie than I was expecting, as I said in my Watchmen review, it was a superhero drama. I initially expected this to just be a standard Batman fights Superman movie. It's honestly one of the biggest surprises i found watching a movie. The direction it took Batman and Superman I found really compelling and one of the best live action arcs for the characters. I loved the direction, writing (Chris Terrio is a step up from David S. Goyer), the acting from everyone, I loved mostly everything about the movie. It's not perfect, there are some plot points which could've been done better and while I love the last act, it did feel kinda typical and cliche to just put a monster for the main characters to kill. I guess it was to set up for the Justice League, and all things considered, there are far worse examples of franchises setting up future movies. As for Suicide Squad... I loved it when I first saw it, now I just like it. It's kinda enjoyable, I liked many of the characters and the action. It is entertaining to me. But it is without a doubt flawed. Most of the problems are tied to two main things, the amount of stuff cut from the movie and the direction the movie decided to take (in that I mean putting the squad up against a supernatural power). Not to mention some of the writing is surprisingly flawed (especially it coming from David Ayer). It is quite disappointing, It could've and should've been a lot more than it was. But I still enjoy it, despite many of its (at times severe) flaws. I have done 2 BvS reviews (Theatrical Cut and Ultimate Cut) and 2 SS reviews (first viewing and retrospective). I can link my reviews to here if you want. |
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Post by RedSparrow on Apr 14, 2017 9:22:39 GMT
Lex Salander I want to know what your thoughts are on BvS and SS. I didn't like either of them, but BvS was definitely 1000x better. Ben made a good Batman and that's pretty much it for me. I loved Batman v Superman when I saw it in theatres but I will say that the Ultimate Edition (with 30 minutes of extra footage) is vastly superior. In retrospective the theatrical cut did cut out a lot of parts (a lot of Superman's arc was cut out), including some of the critical scenes, so that version does have many flaws. The Ultimate Edition really does elevate BvS to me. However no matter which version, BvS went a lot deeper as a movie than I was expecting, as I said in my Watchmen review, it was a superhero drama. I initially expected this to just be a standard Batman fights Superman movie. It's honestly one of the biggest surprises i found watching a movie. The direction it took Batman and Superman I found really compelling and one of the best live action arcs for the characters. I loved the direction, writing (Chris Terrio is a step up from David S. Goyer), the acting from everyone, I loved mostly everything about the movie. It's not perfect, there are some plot points which could've been done better and while I love the last act, it did feel kinda typical and cliche to just put a monster for the main characters to kill. I guess it was to set up for the Justice League, and all things considered, there are far worse examples of franchises setting up future movies. As for Suicide Squad... I loved it when I first saw it, now I just like it. It's kinda enjoyable, I liked many of the characters and the action. It is entertaining to me. But it is without a doubt flawed. Most of the problems are tied to two main things, the amount of stuff cut from the movie and the direction the movie decided to take (in that I mean putting the squad up against a supernatural power). Not to mention some of the writing is surprisingly flawed (especially it coming from David Ayer). It is quite disappointing, It could've and should've been a lot more than it was. But I still enjoy it, despite many of its (at times severe) flaws. I have done 2 BvS reviews (Theatrical Cut and Ultimate Cut) and 2 SS reviews (first viewing and retrospective). I can link my reviews to here if you want. Yes, I would love to read it. For both. I didn't watch the theatrical cut for BvS, but the ultimate edition itself and still found it underwhelming. But it's not as bad as every says it is. At least they had a good performance in Ben to keep me interested. Also the less I say about Suicide Squad the better. But I'm interested in what you have to say. I doubt I've run into anyone who actually liked it  |
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Post by Lex Salander on Apr 14, 2017 9:29:45 GMT
I loved Batman v Superman when I saw it in theatres but I will say that the Ultimate Edition (with 30 minutes of extra footage) is vastly superior. In retrospective the theatrical cut did cut out a lot of parts (a lot of Superman's arc was cut out), including some of the critical scenes, so that version does have many flaws. The Ultimate Edition really does elevate BvS to me. However no matter which version, BvS went a lot deeper as a movie than I was expecting, as I said in my Watchmen review, it was a superhero drama. I initially expected this to just be a standard Batman fights Superman movie. It's honestly one of the biggest surprises i found watching a movie. The direction it took Batman and Superman I found really compelling and one of the best live action arcs for the characters. I loved the direction, writing (Chris Terrio is a step up from David S. Goyer), the acting from everyone, I loved mostly everything about the movie. It's not perfect, there are some plot points which could've been done better and while I love the last act, it did feel kinda typical and cliche to just put a monster for the main characters to kill. I guess it was to set up for the Justice League, and all things considered, there are far worse examples of franchises setting up future movies. As for Suicide Squad... I loved it when I first saw it, now I just like it. It's kinda enjoyable, I liked many of the characters and the action. It is entertaining to me. But it is without a doubt flawed. Most of the problems are tied to two main things, the amount of stuff cut from the movie and the direction the movie decided to take (in that I mean putting the squad up against a supernatural power). Not to mention some of the writing is surprisingly flawed (especially it coming from David Ayer). It is quite disappointing, It could've and should've been a lot more than it was. But I still enjoy it, despite many of its (at times severe) flaws. I have done 2 BvS reviews (Theatrical Cut and Ultimate Cut) and 2 SS reviews (first viewing and retrospective). I can link my reviews to here if you want. Yes, I would love to read it. For both. I didn't watch the theatrical cut for BvS, but the ultimate edition itself and still found it underwhelming. But it's not as bad as every says it is. At least they had a good performance in Ben to keep me interested. Also the less I say about Suicide Squad the better. But I'm interested in what you have to say. I doubt I've run into anyone who actually liked it
Batman v Superman: Theatrical Cut - youngcinemabuffs.wordpress.com/2016/03/25/batman-v-superman-dawn-of-justice-2016-review/ Batman v Superman: Ultimate Cut - youngcinemabuffs.wordpress.com/2016/08/06/batman-v-superman-dawn-of-justice-ultimate-edition-2016-review/ Suicide Squad Initial Reaction - youngcinemabuffs.wordpress.com/2016/08/09/suicide-squad-2016-review/ Suicide Squad: Retrospective - youngcinemabuffs.wordpress.com/2016/12/22/suicide-squad-extended-cut-and-retrospective-review-2016/
As for Suicide Squad, if someone criticises the movie, usually I won't even try to defend the movie because chances are the criticisms are warranted lol. Its just that the problems don't annoy me as much as it does with other people.
On a side note, I am doing a full in depth spoiler review of BvS, I've never attempted to do any movie analyses but I thought I'd give it a try, I decided for my first analysis to address one of the most divisive blockbuster movies in recent years. I have no idea when it'll be up but I'll work on it when I can, and I can share it here once I've finished it, if you'd like.
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Post by RedSparrow on Apr 14, 2017 9:36:14 GMT
Of course. I'll keep my popcorn ready :  |
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Post by Lex Salander on Apr 16, 2017 11:22:53 GMT
My review of the Fate of the Furious.
I wasn’t sure about how I would feel about The Fate of the Furious. I liked all of the previous instalments of the Fast and the Furious franchise (haven’t seen the fourth though), especially the more entries in the series. However, the series has started to feel tired and forced, so I had no idea what I would think of the movie. Honestly, The Fate of the Furious surprised me, it’s one of the best movies in the series, with it being completely over the top, but also having a fitting story which tied everything together well.
What this movie did better than the past two Fast and Furious movies (which I still enjoy) is that it doesn’t focus unnecessary attention on other plot points. In Furious 7, while it’s a revenge story with Statham hunting down Diesel and his crew, it unnecessarily focussed on a pivotal device called ‘God’s Eye’, which it really didn’t need. Fate is a lot more straightforward and benefits a lot from that. I was never bored throughout the movie, the pacing of the movie was quite fast and at the same time it never felt rushed. As for the main plot point of the movie, the reason for Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto betraying his team (without spoiling anything), it is really well done and works for the movie. This movie does work on an emotional level surprisingly, it’s not just entertaining, there’s enough in this movie to actually care about what is going on. I was entertained from start to finish, Fate of the Furious was a very fun ride.
The acting is the same as it is in the other movies but some actual character development is here, meaning that these actors had more to work with than in other movies. Vin Diesel particularly is given quite a lot to work with emotionally and while he’s not that good as an actor, he did well enough in these certain scenes. The acting from the other cast works well enough (even though they aren’t great), there are some stand outs. Dwayne Johnson as usual brings his A-game and charisma, so entertaining to watch. I also really liked Jason Statham here, instead of serving as a villain like in the last movie, his character this time teams up with the main characters and it surprisingly works quite well. While I liked him in Furious 7, the film didn’t use him to his full potential. Here though he gets a lot to do. He is particularly fun in his scenes with Dwayne Johnson, those two verbally sparring were so entertaining to see. However the most stand out performance is Charlize Theron, who without a doubt plays the best villain in the franchise’s history. Not only is she smart, she is also very threatening and scary, making a real impression. Definitely an impressive character and performance for the franchise.
The action is even more over the top than the previous movies, and that’s saying a lot. All the action is completely entertaining. There were two stand out sequences to me, one of them was the Manhattan sequence, in which Theron’s character hacks cars. The other was pretty much the entire final act, which involves cars driving on ice as well as an submarine firing torpedoes at them, and its absolutely insane. It does go on for a little too long but I still enjoyed every moment of it. The laws of physics are defied completely, so of course do not go into this movie expecting any form of realism. If there’s any criticism I had, some of the fight scenes were filmed a little shakily but that is it.
If you don’t like any of the Fast of the Furious movies, you won’t like this movie. If you don’t like the recent movies in this series and prefer the street racer focussed movies, you won’t like this movie. However, if you enjoyed the movies 5-7, you will probably like this movie. It’s not a great movie but it knows what it is, and is endlessly entertaining. I do feel that it would be unnecessary to have more movies in this series, and Fate of the Furious would be a good way to end the main series, but I would like to see spin off movies, especially if its with Jason Statham and Dwayne Johnson, it has a lot of potential.
My review of The Fate of the Furious at my blog at youngcinemabuffs.wordpress.com/2017/04/17/the-fate-of-the-furious-2017-review/
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