Movie Review Rant 2021

I do agree that some parts of the movies are good, but I found them boring, and as someone interested in VFX, the CGI does not hold up well, except for a few shots.

 

I find that view completely perplexing. Any examples?

 

Despite the fact that Gollum's CGI was revolutionary for the time, it doesn't hold up well in certain lighting. You can tell it's a 3D model and not an actual character on screen.

 

Don't care if it has anything to do with movies or not, Florence Pugh is fine at the moment, at least she's topical! And yeah, very much appreciated!

Not got quite the adventurous spirit as you, but when it comes to movies and dodgy sense of humour then I'm with you homie!

You're an animal, simple as. She's totally forgiven though...

After many years of working on the produce section I was well aware of that fact and now I can finally look down my nose at you in disgust for not knowing something totally irrelevant to everyday life!

 

Saw The Suicide Squad today. Pretty good, definitely better than the first one. Good humor and action, James Gunn brought a lot to it.

Saw The Green Knight last week. Also enjoyed it, I plan on taking my mom to see it when she gets back from her trip.

If TV can be discussed... Finally getting around to watching The Sopranos! Just started season 5. I prefer TV dramas to movie dramas. I also watched all of Centaurworld in one day and greatly enjoyed it. The animation is really, really good, and the cartoony style and humor is a lot of fun.

 

A friend of mine has Disney Plus since a few weeks so I'm catching up on Marvel movies I missed so far. The first one we watched was Antman and the Wasp, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Yes, the "shrink a whole building and carry it like a suitcase" was a bit silly, but it didn't really affected by enjoyment because it sort of matched the tone of the movie. I found the tone to be perfect for an antman movie, not particularly serious (then again who wants a movie with human-sized ants to be serious?) but I was invested in the main characters and some of the supporting cast nonetheless. I also really liked the ghost subplot which I think added a lot of tension.

Then we watched Captain Marvel. I went in with very low expectations (I think because I saw a few bad reviews, but I haven't really looked for it), but I actually quite liked the movie. At least, most of the movie, all except the final battle to be precise (see spoiler). The rest of the movie was fine. You could see some of the twists coming from far away, but it was still nice to see how they would play out and it never went completely like I expected.

Spoiler: Spoiler!

The final battle was a waste because Carol, just after having found out who she was, immediately got unreasonably powerful. It was not logical (she never showed any control over her powers throughout the movie), it killed all suspense and it wasn't related to her character arc at all. There are other cases of marvel characters becomes overpowered in an instance, but most of them where related with their character arcs or gave new problems to solve (e.g. Captain America). This was just "cleaning up" after the main arc was done. Making her struggle more with her powers (e.g. difficulty with control or aiming, or making them unreliable) would have certainly improved the scene while preserving the "power up" moment.

The last Marvel movies on my bucket list now are Black Panther and Black Widow. The former I'll probably watch soon, the latter likely as soon as it is free on Disney Plus.

 

I watched Black Panther a few days ago. In my opinion it is a solid Marvel film, but honestly not much more than that (although I recognise it is an important film for many people). I liked some of the world building, even if so much of it relies on the magical properties of one material and it is best not to think about it too much. There were several beautiful fight scenes and I truly enjoyed every moment of M'baku (Winston Duke) or Klaw (Andy Serkis), who gave some much need comic relief to contrast with the more serious nature of much of the rest of the film. I would certainly recommend watching Black Panther if you like Marvel films, but it is not the best they have to offer.

I also watched Loki (partly because @Brum liked it, and we seem to have a similar taste in Marvel movies) which is absolutely a must-watch! It is interesting, energetic, chaotic, hilarious, bizarre, surprising... it is simply glorious and just perfect for a show named "Loki". The story regularly takes unexpected turns and never ceases to surprise. I really liked how Loki himself is the most consistent thing in the show: you can often tell in advance how Loki will react to a situation ('cause Loki's gonna loki) but not how the situation will react to him. Some might say the series is messy and lacks a clear overarching structure, but I think it actually adds to the charm in a certain way. The score is also great and really adds to the overall quality of each episode.

 

Not been to a zoo for a couple of weeks but have managed a cinema visit instead! Anyone guess what I went to see? Yeah, that's right, Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings and it was pretty damn good!

Can't do much of a review as it would be spoiler heavy but I will say that it's definitely worth a watch on the big screen. This film is much better than Marvel's last movie offering (Black Widow, see my review for more details! ) but it's still not as good as Loki. That may sound a bit damning but you really don't understand how much I enjoyed that series!

Anyway, back to Shang-Chi. The visuals are stunning overall with the occasional bit of wonky CGI and the acting is good across the board, especially given the fact I didn't know half the cast before going in. Choreography and fight scenes are also a lot more fluid than we've seen recently in the MCU but there is the familiar shaky cam and quick cuts that we've (unfortunately) come to expect we've these properties. The tone is consistent and has a healthy dose of humour along with the more dramatic beats but this isn't your typical quippy MCU entry. A big dose of the humour comes in an unexpected guest star that blew my mind. You also get a bit of pay off with the Wong/Abomniation cage fight seen in the trailer but it does leave you with more questions than answers... Also massive props to Tony Leung as the Mandarin, probably the best performance in the movie!

Not sure where this fits into my MCU rankings at the minute and will probably reserve judgement until it's out on Disney+ and I can watch it again, but for now I'll give this a respectable 8/10 and I do highly recommend anyone who likes a decent action movie watches this. You probably don't even have to like superhero movies or follow the MCU to enjoy it.

 

Venom 2 - Let There Be Carnage

New comic book movie comes out, Brum heads off to the cinema on opening night (Yeah, I know the Americans have had it for ages now...).

Let me start this review off with me stating right now that it is not a good film! Saying that I bloody loved it for some reason, left the cinema with a massive smile on my face.
The film is clearly inspired by the (fairly terrible) Lethal Protector arc from nineties Marvel comics, and if you know anything about comics in the nineties then you'll know there's a lot of really bad ideas from that period, this is one of them. Fortunately this works in the movies favour as it clearly doesn't take itself seriously, they've really leaned into the comedy element from the first film which did take itself far too seriously indeed. The relationship between Eddie and Venom is great and the back and forth between Tom Hardy and Tom Hardy is a joy too watch, the man has a great sense of comedic timing which is good as Woody Harrelson plays his part far darker.
Speaking of Woody, he does a stupendous job of playing deranged serial killer Cletus Kasady but doesn't shine so much when he's in the guise of Carnage, but the CGI on Carnage (and Venom) is far more impressive than on Riot in the first film.
Other noteworthy turns are done by Stephen Graham (doing a pretty flawless New York accent) as Patrick Mulligan the cop who wants to track Kasady down once he's escaped. Again, if you know anything about the comics then you'll know he's destined for bigger things in the sequels. Also Naomie Harris as Shriek plays a pivotal role in the film, mainly being the driving force for the Cletus plot but also has a big part to play towards the end of the movie. And I loved the fact Reece Shearsmith (League Of Gentlemen) has a small role in this, I love it when TV stars of my youth pop up in big Holywood blockbusters.
The mid-credit scene is mind blowing with its implications and it sent tingles up my spine thinking about future possibilities. Definitely do not skip this one! Also there's no post-credit scene so once you've seen it you can bail from the cinema!

I'm going to give this film a solid 9 out of 10, I don't expect everyone to agree with me but this film just hit all the right notes for some reason. Well worth a watch. Also the first opening night I've been to this year where the cinema was full to pre-COVID levels, even more so than Shang-Chi.

Also watched Free Guy (three times) recently but I'm struggling to write a review, I will say that I also really enjoyed it though and think everyone should watch it at least once, as long as they like Ryan Reynolds. Another 9 out of 10 movie in my opinion with some great cameos, great gaming references, and Taika Waititi being fantastic as the evil head of a gaming company. Absolutely steals the show!

 

My first trip to a cinema in 19 months (not because I haven't wanted to, but because my local one has only recently re-opened, later than others elsewhere) was a couple of weeks ago. I saw No Time To Die, and really enjoyed it. I liked it more than Casino Royale or Quantum of Solace, but not as much as Skyfall or Spectre. The cinema was completely full that day, no empty seats and there was a huge queue to get in before the film started, I was actually really happy to see that.

 

First time posting on this thread, I wanted to give some thoughts on one movie I saw and I actually liked despite some deep flaws to it. So last Thursday night, I was itching it watch Halloween Kills. I’m a fan of the Halloween series but am very aware that quite many installments aren’t good films. They’re legacy films/characters that many grew up on and have fond memories of.

That being said, I did enjoy this movie. This movie is definitely a Michael Mayer’s movie. Yes he’s been the main villain in almost all the Halloween films(exception of Seasons of the Witch). What I mean is that this is not following the “heroes” as much during this film but more so delving into the pure evil and rage that Michael Myers has for the people of Haddonfield. It’s brutal and gory, perhaps the most of all the entries in the franchise.

I will speak on the bad first, I know it may seem odd but its how I often think about movies haha For the human characters, many suffer from 80’s and 90’s Horror logic: being dim witted fodder for Michael Myers. The dialogue and behavior of some of the humans is just plainly bad. The ending of the film is very divisive to say the least. I was left puzzled by why it happened but not totally shocking to be honest. It will bother you quite enough and if you aren’t a massive fan of the slasher genre or this series, do not watch this film. It may upset you and it also doesn’t help that it is the bridge chapter to Halloween Ends that is to debut next year, ending the trilogy by David Gordon Green. I will say it’s not a complete film at all, needing the follow up to finish the story.

As for what I did enjoy now: John Carpenter and company scored the film wonderfully and having a similar resonance to the soundtrack of the 2018 Halloween. It doesn’t vary wildly but it certainly echos the 1978 classic with a modern day flare. The sound design adds a layer to the film, giving suspense and grandiose to the legend of the Haddonfield boogeyman. The portrayal of Michael Myers by actor/stuntman James Jude Courtney is perhaps my favorite in the series. Playing to the age of the character, a somewhat tall senior citizen that isn’t by any means a slouch yet not perfect in his stalking of his prey. And this may be a negative for some but when I think of these franchises, the creativity to the kills and brutality of them speaks of the anger Michael has for Haddonfield which may not be all warranted. It certainly feels like we are meant to root for him and less so for the other characters.

If I am to score it, I will say between a 6-7 so let me split the different: 6.5 out of 10. Maybe it’s too high for some but it’s how I feel

 

Narnia: the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe

This is a fantastic movie in my opinion! The CGI still holds up VERY well (except for a couple of places). I love the book, and love the movie even more. The final battle is AMAZING (much bigger than it was in the book) and Liam Neeson as Aslan is incredible. My only only complaint is that it takes 45 minutes for all four kids to enter Narnia.

 

Which version is this? There are many movie adaptations of this book. I assume you mean the Disney version?

 

Given that this is the so far most successful movie in Italy, the Italian ZooChatters are probably very familiär with Quo vado? (2016), an Italian comedy about an Italian public servant who doesn't want to vacate his comfy position as a bureaucrat. The humor is goofy and a lot is probably lost in translation, but all in all, it's a good movie if you just want to laugh.

Spoiler

One of my favourite jokes heavily targets Italian stereotypes: Checco, the protagonist, looks out of the window and cries, commenting that the scenery makes him homesick for Italy. While his gf assumes that he is talking about the moon, he's actually referring to the double-park car...

 

So (yet another) new comic book movie comes out, so off I head to the cinema on opening night... Again! This time I went to see The Eternals with low expectations owing to terrible reviews. In fact this is the first MCU movie that has gotten a rotten score on Rotten Tomatoes. So is it deserving off all the negativity? Let's dive a little deeper and find out.

The film borrows heavily from Neil Gaiman's Eternals which is an absolute masterpiece so I was quite looking forward to it. Unfortunately they've changed a lot of the characters genders and motivations so I found it a bit hard to keep up, I suppose those who haven't read the comics won't have that problem but for me personally it was a bit confusing as there are so many characters to keep track of. Another major flaw is the runtime, this film does drag on a bit unfortunately and there are quite a lot of scenes that are just exposition. Also the villains (Deviants) look pretty terrible at times, you can see why they didn't feature much in the trailers as the CGI is a bit jarring on occasion.
My final bit of criticism is I just don't like Richard McFadden (who plays Icarus) and this movie really doesn't help his case. He's a decent enough actor but just not my cup of tea. Kit Harrington (playing Dane Whitman - exciting things to come with that character) was also in the same category before last night but I actually enjoyed his (brief) appearance in this.

Now some positives - the film is stunningly shot and you can tell there was far less green screen than in other recent movies. The cast are generally quite good, the story is okay but there are certain elements that don't make sense when taken with the wider MCU, but it is quite contained so if they decide not to do an actual sequel then there's not too much left hanging. Post and mid-credit scenes are fantastic and have some amazing surprise cameos. Also the representation of a gay character and a deaf character are handled really well, but even then it was clearly going to upset certain factions of the internet. One big shock is there is an actual sex scene in this, which I'm pretty sure is only the second one in MCU history (think there was one in Iron Man?). I only mention it in case anyone decides to take their children. It's not graphic but there were parents who covered their kids eyes in my cinema.

All in all I'd say go watch this just to make up your own mind. It's not a bad movie but it's definitely not one of the best MCU films by a long shot. I'll give it a dependable 7 out of 10 for now, which may go up or down on a second viewing.

 

I saw Dune last week, while the story was a bit hard to follow at tge start, it became easier to understand as it went along. There are a lot of pretty landscape shots and nice set and costume design. However I made the mistake of booking a seat near the speakers, so the louder, more basey music and MmmMMMMmmmmAAAAArrrrrrRRRRRUUUuuuuuu kind of sounds were particularly hard on me.

 

The official trailer for Pixar's new movie Turning Red just came out and it's so good! I can't wait to see it in March! When the teaser trailer came out in July I almost fell out of my chair I was laughing so hard! They even got some of the Red Panda behavior right like when she gets scared and holds up her hands.