I'm back and ready to return to my old game! To kick things off, I'll begin by writing some quick reviews of the movies I managed to see during some of my days off in my military training. This will be in the order in which I saw the movies, so don't get confused with that.
The Avengers - Brilliant movie that manages to live up to its hype. The script manages to capture the personalities of all the characters established in the previous movies, and the way they intertwine, for better or for worse, could not have been any better of an establishment. It was especially interesting for me to see this movie after my basic combat training, because at that point, I was afraid that my platoon was constantly falling apart as a team, but this movie made me realize what a team has to go through. One minute, Iron Man and Captain America are arguing about who's the better hero, but at the snap of a finger, trouble comes about and everyone works together to get things done, because they're smart enough to realize that their differences aren't as important as saving the world. I love the dialogue, I love Joss Whedon's slick directorial style, and I especially love Alan Silvestri's score. It's one of the best movies of the year, and one of the best superhero movies of all time. $20
The Dark Knight Rises - Not quite as good as The Dark Knight, but still a brilliant conclusion to the series. The way they incorporate Bane into Chris Nolan's realm of semi-reality (not to mention, obviously replacing the Joker in the role he was supposed to have before Ledger died) is really clever, and Tom Hardy's performance is surprisingly strong. Usually, he plays a charismatic jerk, but here, he pulls off the psychotic villain role really well. I also loved Anne Hathaway's charismatic performance as Selina Kyle, as well as the witty dialogue she's given. The plot is simultaneously dramatic and thrilling, dwelling into what Bruce Wayne should do with his life while also going through a plot that might ruin his legacy one way or another. Considering how bad third movies can get, this movie is a fantastic conclusion to a fantastic trilogy, even if it doesn't live up to some of Nolan's other work. $20
The Amazing Spider-Man - Probably the biggest surprise of this year since The Grey. It fails entirely as an adaptation, dwelling unbelievably far away from the source material to a point where it seems like an entirely different movie. However, at one point, I accepted the fact that it was something entirely different, because I find that, for the most part, it does work on its own merits. Andrew Garfield delivers a strong performance as Peter Parker, capturing the awkward, nerdy side of his character while also making him a believable hero. He's given this gift, and he manages to use it the right way. The build-up of his chemistry with Emma Stone as Gwen Stacey is also a lot of fun to watch, and I especially like how he's able to capture her heart before he reveals that he's a superhero. The CGI isn't the most impressive-looking effects in the world, but the visual style itself is slick and colorful. The only thing I would really complain about is that Dr. Connors' motivation for being evil makes no sense. In the comics, he didn't have a choice on when he turned into the Lizard or what he did when he transformed, and that made sense. Here, he's given the choice, and at first, he chooses to transform because he believes that humans are weak and that they can become stronger through his method, but without giving too much away, he just decides to come back to good for some unexplained reason. But aside from that, in the end, I did enjoy the movie, and I look forward to what they manage to do with their future sequels. $14
Act of Valor - Someone at my AIT bought this and kept playing it during our lock-downs, so I figured "Why not?" and immediately had my question answered. This movie is a mess of cliched writing, dull performances, and a sluggish and forced directorial style. What really ticks me off about this movie is that it was marketed as a realistic take on military life, utilizing real equipment, real weapons, and real situations. That's fantastic, except for one thing: We already have several interpretations just like that. What makes this movie so special? $1
Ted - You may not know this about me, but I hate Seth MacFarlane. Shows like Family Guy and American Dad are extravagant in style but rely too much on random, illogical pop culture references. This movie suffers from the same problem, except they also manage to take advantage of every clever joke that the admittedly intriguing premise suggests. For that reason, I did enjoy the movie. If MacFarlane utilized the personalities of his characters in more of his work like he did in this movie, I would give him a lot more credit. $12
Brave - In any other case, I would say something along the lines of "Come on, man, it's Pixar! You know it's pure genius!", but after Cars 2 last year, I've accepted the fact that no studio is perfect. With that said, Brave is a great movie; not quite on par with some of Pixar's other masterpieces, but still a great addition to their library. The morals concerning one's ability to dwell away from the common norm of society and make his (or her) own decisions are very well-established. Merida is not the most complex of the strong and independent Disney princesses, but an independent woman is an independent woman, and people who have read my reviews know that I LOOOOVE independent women. But at the same time, the movie's not just about women's rights either. It explores the whole idea of princes marrying princesses, getting towards the idea that essentially, men and women should be allowed to make their own decisions rather than being forced into the common system. The animation is very stylish, the score is breathtaking, and the creativity implemented throughout the movie is.... Well, creative. Pixar got back onto their feet in a heartbeat, and I look forward to their future work as usual. Wait, what's that? A sequel to Monsters Inc? F**k........ $16
The Expendables 2 - The only thing I can say about this movie is that if you like the idea of Stallone, Schwarzenegger, Willis, Norris, and all these other big action stars fighting in the same battle, this movie will live up to the hype. It has an energetic style to it and a lot of well-constructed and creative action scenes. Some might look at it as just repetitive shoot-em-ups, but while the actual deaths aren't all that creative, the things these people do while killing are a lot of fun to watch, like when they're riding a golf cart to shoot down some bad guys. Also, this movie pulls off the 2nd biggest cinematic accomplishment of the year (1st being superhero continuity) by bringing the Chuck Norris joke back to life. It's by no means a masterpiece, but it's a fun little action flick. Nothing more, nothing less. $13
Those are all the movies I managed to see over my military training. Now, I'll talk about some of the movies I saw after training.
Paranorman - Loved it. It's unpredictable, it's thrilling, the characters are a lot of fun, and the morals behind it are surprisingly deep. Throughout the movie, everyone's guilty of the same thing; doing and saying things that are wrong because they're scared; and the only way to fix that is if they all stop and think before they continue to act. Norman is a likable and relatable character in that he has this weird gift, but no one believes him about it because it's out of the common norm as well as scary. The animation captures a film noir style while also not being afraid to get weird, making it suitable for an animated horror flick. It ranks up as my favorite animated film of the year thus far, though to be fair, its only real competition so far has been Brave. $20
Lawless - There's not much to say about this movie. I can't say that I had any problems with it, but at the same time, there's nothing terribly interesting or memorable about it. I liked Tom Hardy in his role, but at the same time, it's a good example of the "charismatic jerk" role I was talking about before. Shia Labeouf also delivers a solid performance, but I feel that he's been getting too many action roles. I feel that he would be more suitable for comedy, but that's just me. The gritty western style is pretty generic, but well constructed nevertheless. $8
Premium Rush - Given the subject matter of a bike messenger trying to make a delivery, the only way this movie could be any more over-the-top is if it involved aliens. A bike messenger being entrusted with a ticket to make an illegal money transfer? I wouldn't even trust those guys with flowers for my mom! Not to mention, said messenger gets way too attached to that delivery. If I was told that it's against the law to make such a transfer, I would've handed that thing back in a heartbeat. Don't get me wrong, though; despite the movie being silly as hell, I still enjoyed it. The performances in this movie are likable (and as everybody knows, I cannot get enough of Gordon-Levitt), but the performance I enjoyed the most is Michael Shannon, only because he's so over-the-top. The energetic directorial style is what sells this movie. I haven't seen a style this lively since Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. Overall, I had a lot of fun with the movie, and if it's still playing, I highly recommend it. $12
Films I still haven't seen but want to see:
Men in Black 3
Prometheus
Rock of Ages
That about sums it up. Stay tuned for my next line of reviews, and have a wonderful day!
No comments:
Post a Comment