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An error has ocurred. Please try againAnyways, all in all, 2015 was a pretty underwhelming year. There weren’t really all that much that was phenomenal that came out, which is funny since 2014 was honestly one of the best years for film in quite a while. But there were still some good movies that came out, and that's what I’m going to list off.
Reviews
Rakka (2017)
its improvement i guess
I have no idea what is with me and Neill Blomkamp. I love District 9, but everything hes made after that has been nothing but underwhelming. And unfortunately the same goes for this.
First thing, it feels like the first third of this short is nothing but an exposition dump. And I can understand why they had to do that, but heres the thing. If your going to create a short film with all of this world building and complex ideas. Why don't you just make it a movie so you could go a bit more in depth? Though to be honest, since most of Blomkamp's films haven't been having the best reception it probably was a movie before.
Some of the writing felt somewhat clichéd and forced in a couple of areas (mainly the exposition bit), the cinematography was about as pleasing to look at as staring at puke colored cement. Plus there were more than a few awkward edits.
Now while I mainly have negatives to say about this, there is one thing that was done well enough that I feel talking about that aspect in particular. Which is the VFX. I feel like Blomkamp while fantastic with making a film as a whole, has always excelled at VFX. Even with District 9 the effects were great with the budget they had. And I'm assuming this one didn't have that massive of a budget. But even then, the effects work is stunning in more than a couple of areas.
Rakka had a lot of potential, but was bogged down by its execution and limitations as a short film. This really is something I feel would benefit from being a feature film.
48/100
The Lego Batman Movie (2017)
Another Fun Lego Film
Its kind of funny to think that this was probably the best film associated with DC in almost a decade.
Anyways, The Lego Batman Movie was an absolute blast of an animated film with a bit more depth and character than I was expecting. I was expecting a few jabs at the Batman franchise and not much else, but there were more than a few clever easter eggs and references while still being faithful to the character (even if it is a complete parody of it). With that said, it does discuss some interesting aspects of Batman's character and uses it to create some genuine humor and emotion.
The animation in this and The Lego Movie has some of the most creative uses of CG animation I've seen out of any animated film. The way they implement lens flares, depth of field, and distinct lighting that makes the film look absolutely beautiful.
So this weekend was pretty great, considering its February. Also I'm glad that this beat out Fifty Shades Darker in the box office.
88/100
Arrival (2016)
Sci Fi At Its Best
"There are days that define your story beyond your life"
Holy crap. This is probably Denis's best and most emotionally powerful film. Within the first three minutes I was on the verge of tears. Every performance in this film was fantastic. The cinematography, like usual for Denis Villeneuve, is amazing and probably the best of year. The score is very unique and goes back and forth from being mysterious to somber. The visual effects, while scarce, are used effectively. And since this is a film that focuses on story more than insane effects, the fact that they are well done adds to the story. The story is unbelievably gripping, but the first half of the film contains some of the most amazing atmosphere and build up I have ever seen in any sci-fi film. Now some people have complained about the last third, but I won't get into that mostly because I feel like I need to rewatch it to fully understand what I saw. But to be honest, I had no problem with the third act.
But the thing that I love about this movie most is that this is a story of trying to understand what is unknown or hard to understand rather than trying to push it away or destroy it. Even with current events it came out at a perfect time. It shows that there are people who don't want to understand the unknown and that there are some who will do everything they can to understand. It shows both the care and carelessness of humanity. And it shows that life is somewhat of a gift and we shouldn't waste it trying to push away, but embrace. And that might sound really pretentious but it really struck a cord with me. I would say everyone should watch this movie, even if some parts of it I don't fully understand. But like the main character I feel compelled to return to find out more, to figure out..... Man that sounded really cheesy.
100/100
Operation Avalanche (2016)
Found Footage Done In A Fresh And Interesting Way
Forgot to do a review of this one when I originally saw it. But I also rewatched it at some point before I decided to write this review, so it smooths out. Anyways Matt Johnson's found footage mockumentary on faking the moon landing is one of the most ambitious yet amazingly well excited films I've seen in the past few years. He takes this crazy concept and is able to bring a level comedy, intrigue, and wit to it. It starts off a little slow but goes all the way by the first few minutes and is an absolute joy to watch. That with is attention to detail with costume design to the type of camera they used to some of the insane effects used in the middle of the film, there isn't a moment where you feel they couldn't do it because of their shoe string budget. Plus I love how they are to change the tone of the film without it contradicting itself. When it goes from a more comedic feel to somewhat of an espionage thriller is really impressive. Also its really engaging. Probably the best film I've seen in 2017 so far.
94/100
Assassin's Creed (2016)
A Lot More Enjoyable Than You May Think
Expectations are more important than you may think.
For example, a lot of people I know said this was just a boring and interesting video game adaptation with no real redeeming qualities. Others said it was a fun time. So I just went in with no major expectations, besides what I know of the games. And in the end I was actually surprised and thoroughly enjoyed what we got. I mean its not perfect. In fact some aspects are actually pretty bad, but most of them have to do with the story. First, even though this is far from his best work, I kind of enjoyed Michael Fassbender, even if he was somewhat distant in this. The action is probably the most surprising part, that being it was really well choreographed and had some cool looking parkour segments. I also liked the aesthetic the film was going for. Many of the shots are almost entirely silhouette and it fit with the theme of "assassins working in the dark." even though they are almost always in daylight in this film. Finally the score was really nice to listen to and helped heighten the tension of some of the actions scenes, rather than feeling generic.
Now there were some not so great aspects. One thing was that some of the performances were pretty stiff. Mainly they just felt a bit forced at times and they didn't work very well. The biggest issue I have is definitely the dialogue. There were more than a number of some unintentionally hilarious lines.
"I understand its your birthday."
"Yeah. And the party's just getting started"
But considering this is the first video game film I've actually enjoyed, even for its flaws, its was actually a really fun watch. I even feel inclined to watch it again. Who knows maybe this rating will change on a second viewing. So far this is my biggest guilty pleasure film from 2016.
P.S. There was no stupid music like they had in the trailer. There is something like that but its brief and in the beginning so that was a relief.
68/100
Silence (2016)
A Subtle Masterpiece
Now this was a film I've been giving some time to think about for the past week. I knew that this was my favorite film of the year, but I had a hard time trying to explain why. But now I think I understand. Silence is a film that tackles its ideas and themes mainly through sounds and images, not words. There are definitely a few dialogue heavy scenes, but the scenes that leave the most impact are the ones that linger on the sounds and visuals rather than whats being said. And not only does that approach make this Scorsese's second best film (in my opinion) but also the most powerful and emotionally resonating film of the whole year. Because its not the moments where characters give passionate discussions that I remember the most. Its the haunting images that have embedded into my memory as well the sounds, or the lack there of. Im definitely going to rewatch this when this gets a wider release. I have a feeling this won't be as successful as Scorsese's other films, mostly because its quite lengthy and slowly paced. But I feel that for its slow pacing there isn't a moment where I wasn't engrossed in what was being presented. I absolutely urge everyone to go see this movie, even if you think it might not be your thing. I want go any longer because I feel like I'll just start rambling. Then again, maybe great movies can do that to you. Also shitty movies of course, but luckily this is not a shitty movie.
100/100
Every Frame a Painting (2014)
Strange amount of hate on this one
So I am a fan of Every Frame A Painting, and have enjoyed most of his short and sweet video essays.
Also I looked at the amount of rating this had on IMDb, and saw the majority of ratings were 1/10. And the only review of this is a 1/10 with 200 users saying this was helpful. So I think someone has just been creating loads of IMDb accounts and just all rated this 1/10 or people just kept spamming 1/10 ratings. If that is what happened, I feel thats pretty ridiculous and I don't really see what you're trying to get out of it. But anyways, just strange the amount of 1/10 ratings this has.
Man of Steel (2013)
A weak story with even weaker characters
With the Batman Vs Superman movie being released today, I decided I would take a look back on the film that restarted the DC Universe, for better or worse. That movie is Man Of Steel. This one has some pretty split opinions. Some people love it, others hate it with a burning passion. Im somewhere in the middle. Anyway lets get this started.
First off, I am not a fan of Superman, not even slightly. The concept, at least for todays standards, is really basic and very bland. The villain and supporting characters are also bland. But Im going to judge this as its own thing, I will sometimes reference the source material for emphasis on both positives and negatives. First, lets talk about the positives. The guy they got to play Superman, Henry Cavill, I thought was pretty good. It wasn't an amazing performance, but knowing what Superman's character is like it fits him really well. It had the really bland "Im the most pure good character and I never speak in a mean tone what so ever.' which is what I think they were going for. Another good aspect are the fight scenes. Yeah they were pretty ridiculous and Im pretty sure quite a few people died in that city fight, but they were cool to watch though. Also some of the characters were kinda interesting
. up to a point (I'll get to that later). So all in all, there were some good aspects sprinkled through out the film. The problem is that the flaws in this film are some pretty major flaws.
Alright the biggest problem with this movie is the story. Even though Christopher Nolan was only part of the story crew, his finger prints were all over it. There were many times where some characters were just reduced to spouting exposition and saying how important Superman is, every time its in a whisper also. There are lot of characters like Louis Lane who are changed from being interesting, to this. Also there were a lot of times where there was some painfully obvious Jesus symbolism. If it wasn't as obvious I wouldn't complain, but this is just ridiculous. There were some moments where a character had a monologue about Superman, and I kinda clocked out at one point because this was done already like 5 times before. This type of grim adaptation of Superman, at least in my opinion, doesn't work very well. Superman was always very lighthearted since the beginning, so this doesn't fit very well. It makes me wonder what the version Kevin Smith tried to make would've been like. Also some little things kinda bothered me. For example, during major fight scenes the camera always kept zooming in and out for no reason, which was really distracting. For the most part the special effects were good, except some times they felt kinda rubbery. The score was very forgettable, there were some good pieces, but it didn't feel like anything new.
In the end, with the story that shoves everything in your face, and the fact that it really drags in a lot of parts, I can't really recommend the film. This is really risky compared to other superhero films like Marvel. So you'd be better off watching The Winter Soldier or something.
Final Score: 5/10
Room (2015)
Good but not great
Well, this was one of the most critically acclaimed movies of last year. Everyone loved and talked about the performances. When I first saw it, I thought it was good, but after another watch, it doesn't hold up as much. Let me make this clear, I don't think its bad, it just isn't as effective on a second (and most likely third) viewing, and Im a person who believes a great movie can hold up on multiple viewings. Anyways lets get started.
Ill start off with the positives. The performances were pretty great. Brie Larson, I can't say anything new about her since everyone has already said how great she was, and I can't disagree with that. Jacob Tremblay was surprisingly good. I say surprisingly since most child actors are known for being terrible, but he was great. Even the actors who weren't in it for very long, like William H Macy, were great. So all around great acting. The script did have its moments, it wasn't amazing, but not bad. I think its good for a first time a writing a screenplay. It had some heavy handed moments, but some subtler moments. My biggest problem is that some of the characters were somewhat cliché, but thats really it.
Now for the negatives. My biggest problem is that the first third of the movie, the part that takes place in Room, drags on, a lot. It didn't bother me as much on my first watch, but on a second watch it feels like it goes on forever. I know some people found this part very emotional, but I just couldn't get into it. I started to see some of the problems on the second watch, which aren't really major problems, but really bugged me. For instance, the cinematography is kinda bad (which bugs me since i'm a cinematography buff). There were sometimes when the characters got a bit hard to feel for after the first third, I just didn't get invested anymore. Luckily after the first third is over, it does pick up a lot more and gets a lot more interesting, but the other part was just unbearable.
So in conclusion, Room isn't bad, its just one of those movies that declines on repeated watch.
Final Score: 6/10
Saul fia (2015)
One Of The Most Engrossing and Uncompromising Films I Have Ever Seen
Now I know that this movie was released in 2015, but it did not get a theatrical release until last Friday, so for now i'm calling it a 2016 release, also i'm doing this because I don't feel like redoing my 2015 list since this would be on there somewhere. Anyways, on with the review.
There are films that can affect you in many ways and Son Of Saul is one of the most effective and uncompromising films I have ever seen. You feel engrossed by the way every scene is presented, and it feels so real that at one point I felt sick to my stomach from how realistic the movie felt. Every aspect of the film was meticulously presented, and some of the details were incredibly subtle.
One thing about the movie that made it work incredibly well was the cinematography. They use a hand held camera for almost all the movie and instead of showing some establishing shots for you to understand where the film takes place, it actually follows the main character through one impressive long take of him brining in the Jewish prisoners to the camp. The rest of the movie, the camera is solely focused on Saul, and most of the background is blurred out so we can faintly see whats going on around, but sometimes you have to infer for yourself. This really sells the idea of this being a journey through the characters perspective, since we never cut to another person, its always following him, we only see what he sees. This also makes some scenes incredibly disturbing since it doesn't show whats happening upfront, you can only think about about what is happening.
Another great aspect is the sound design. I know thats a small thing to talk about, but trust me, its also really important. The sound was used so well it actually made you feel like when a character was whispering to Saul that they were whispering into your ear as well, there were so many little touches that made you feel like you were there with him, and again made some scenes even more disturbing. Also the lack of a score is what sells the tone the film is going for.
The directing is absolutely perfect. There are scenes that use a great numbers of extras, and these scenes are usually one takes that move around an area, some lasting for 5 minutes or more.
In the end Son Of Saul is an essential movie, that shows how a movie can be more than just a movie. I would say its a perfect movie except there was one scene where a scream sound effect was used that I've heard in a few other movies, and it took me out the scene for a bit. I know its kind of a nitpick, but it was really distracting. But besides that, the film is practically flawless, and, in the future, might be called one of the best films ever made.
Final Score: 9.5/10
Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
A Disappointing Sequel
With Deadpool being released tomorrow, I decided to review one of the most disappointing movies Marvel has made in a while. Not bad, just disappointing. This same movie also being one of most hyped up sequels since The Force Awakens.
Now I can't review this properly without spoiling it, so right here I'm putting a spoiler alert. First off, let me just say I did enjoy the first Avengers movie, it wasn't anything amazing but it was entertaining. Also I usually enjoy most movies that Marvel has produced, but this one was surprisingly lacking. Also this might be a pretty long review.
First lets talk about the story. The story isn't really the most important thing in a comic book movie, but there are still some major aspects of the story in this one. The story (even for a comic book movie) is really messy and has many moments that are rushed. They also had to set up other Marvel films coming out later, since thats a thing that Marvel does. The thing is that they had so many movies that they wanted to set up as many films as possible, to the point where it almost overshadowed the plot. For example, there's a part where the group is hit with something that makes them remember past memories, and this branched out into other sub plots that were going on while the main story kinda took a backseat for a little while. Also there was a really forced sorta romance, and this wasn't developed in the first movie so it pretty much came out of nowhere. Another thing is that I thought the new characters were pretty underwhelming. Quick Silver was really distracting since I know he was in X-Men, but is Russian in this. Also the characters have no personality, especially Quick Silver, who also dies, so he was completely pointless. I think probably one of the worst things is that the villain, Ultron, is not really unique in anyway. He's just a regular, lets destroy the world, type villain. Also I thought it was funny how Ultron hated the world after being on the internet for one minute.
Another thing that this movie didn't do all that well was the effects. In the first scene the effects looked awful, they looked rubbery, and wasn't helping that the action scene going on wasn't all that interesting. The effects do improve a little as the film goes on, but I still can't help feeling like almost every scene was filmed on a green screen set. Also the action scenes were
.. alright. There wasn't anything notable, they were just
.. alright. The battle at the end is cool for the first two minutes and then it just feels like im watching some one play a version of Dynasty Warriors where every enemy looks like the same generic robot. Except without the fun of Dynasty Warriors.
There wasn't anything all that special about this movie. I just felt like another generic comic book movie. Thats the problem with this movie, its very generic. There wasn't any cool cinematography, no great characters, no amazing effects, no memorable moments. And its funny since this was planned to be one of the best sequels ever, but instead of falling flat on it's face, its just very bland. I feel sorry for Joss Whedon since he had to make a movie to satisfy fan's unbelievable requests and also set up like ten more marvel movies. I think he does deserve the break since this seemed to be a lot of ridiculous stress on him.
So in the end, its no terrible, but it had a lot more potential than it delivered, and I think thats the disappointing thing about Age Of Ultron.
Final Score: 5/10
World of Tomorrow (2015)
Another Amazing Work From Don Hertzfeldt
I know it may be strange to do a full length review on a short film, but I felt this one deserved it. Don Hertzfeldt is one of my favorite animators right now and he's done other work that I loved like "It's Such A Beautiful Day" (which I will review at some point in the future) and the disturbingly funny "Rejected". "World Of Tomorrow" is his most recent work, and probably his most critically praised. What do I think of it? I think its absolutely fantastic. Personally, I don't think its as good as "It's Such A Beautiful Day", but still great. Anyways lets continue.
One thing to note is the animation. Hertzfeldt is known for using a somewhat minimalistic but unique style for most of his work, and this is probably his most visual work, since it presents other planets and parts of space. It does use a lot of techniques to create this style like using live action, special blur effects and so on. The short also has an amazingly creative and original story, so creative that it kinda reminds me of those famous short stories from Phillip K. Dick. It does bring up these great concepts, but also has time for emotional and funny moments. There is also some nice voice acting with the clone of Emily and her younger self.
So in the end "World Of Tomorrow" is a creative, funny, and touching animation that makes you think long after you have viewed it. Honestly guys, go watch it now, its on Netflix its only 15 minutes long and I promise you that you won't regret it.
Final Score: 8.5/10
Star Wars (1977)
No, I am not calling it A New Hope
Now with the kinda enormously anticipated Force Awakens premiering this Friday, I decided to chat about the film that started it all, Star Wars
from 1977. And even though I very much enjoy this movie, I will not shy away from the flaws. Anyways lets blastoff!!! (Yes that was corny, but I'm in the mood right now so shut up.)
So first thing I want to talk about is the story. The story of a young farm boy being sent on a quest to save the princess and the galaxy from an evil overlord. While the story isn't anything new compared to today's science fiction films, it does have a timeless feel in how its presented. Its also pretty interesting the fact that the story took inspiration from old samurai films.
The characters are probably the most iconic thing about this film, besides maybe the story or soundtrack (which is freaking excellent by the way.) We all know them, the whiny Luke Skywalker who learns to mature, the wise old Obi-Wan Kenobi, the awesome Han Solo, the strong and determined Leia, the sinister yet captivating Darth Vader, the
.Chewbacca, every character is instantly recognizable and you remember them all. Though one thing I should point out is while the characters are good, the acting at times could be pretty bad. Not all of them, Alec Guinness is great as Obi-Wan, but some of the others aren't all that great.
One other thing about this film that is iconic are the effects. When they were making Star Wars they actually had a pretty small budget, which is more amazing when you think about how revolutionary these effects were, they were so revolutionary that this film practically created CGI with the blaster and light saber effects. Even though not all of the effects hold up today, there are still some really good effects considering nowadays. Even the some of the hokey effects I can forgive since the movie's budget was pretty constrained.
Even though, like I said before, I do enjoy this movie, I do have some issues. One thing I talked about already was the acting. Another thing is that looking back at it, the first 20 to 30 minutes of the movie are really slow, and this might be just because I am used to movies having a more faster paced story, but I did feel really uninterested at this point. Also, while I said that the story does feel timeless, it does have a lot of ridiculous moments. A famous example being the Death Star having a small hole that if you shot into would cause it to explode. Also when the fight at the Cantina starts, its just because some guy saw Luke and "didn't like him". And even though the Death Star battle is iconic and entertaining, it is very overblown and cheesy at times.
Even with the flaws I have with it, I do appreciate Star Wars for doing something that hadn't been done before at the time, and in the process created blockbusters and sci-fi films as we know it.
Final Score: 7.5/10
Identity (2003)
Forgettable Film, Memorable Twist
Identity was one of those movies I had to re-watch before doing the review just to remember what happened, and I watched the movie a month ago. So, to say the least, this movie was pretty forgettable.
Since this a horror film I guess I should talk about the "horror." Its not all that interesting, its just a bunch of jump scares and not much else. They have some scenes that actually a lot funnier than they should be, just because of how lazily the horror is executed.
Another thing about this movie is that it has another horror film trope . dumb, cliché and hate-able characters. There wasn't a single character that I remember saying "Oh that was a well written and developed character" or "Oh, that was an interesting character, I hope they don't die by the end." Speaking of clichés, the movie follows the ancient early 2000′s film cliché of having a weird green color palette, because The Matrix did it and everyone liked it then so why not reuse it over and over again.
Finally, I want to talk about the twist ending of the film, so if you haven't seen the film you probably won't understand what I'm talking about after this. I feel the twist ending was really forced in, and I think at first it was interesting, but as I was thinking about I realized that this is the type of twist ending M. Night Shyamalan would do. Also, now that I think about it, the title of the movie subtly spoils the twist ending. If the twist wasn't in the movie what would you call it then? "Everyone Dies At The Hotel"
Anyways, Identity was pretty forgettable in a lot of ways, but the twist was pretty memorable, if for the wrong reasons.
Final Score: 4.5/10
Following (1998)
A Small But Great Debut
This is an interesting little movie. This was feature debut of now famous director Christopher Nolan, and was made on the budget of only six thousand dollars. So as you can imagine, this was a small movie, but I feel it is genuinely impressive what they made with so little of a budget.
Like most Nolan films, Following has a very interesting and tight story. The story has many signature Nolan moments where a scene will cut in between two or three different times and places, and its up to the viewer to try to bring together in the end. The story isn't as complicated as Memento or Inception but it still has some complexity to it.
Another thing is that the acting is surprisingly great, for a cast that was just Nolan's friends at the time. The cinematography was also surprisingly good and the fact that there budget was so low makes some shots pretty impressive. My only gripe is that there are some shots that are somewhat amateur, but they are few and far between.
In the long run, Following is an impressive first film and has many aspects of it you will probably notice in later Nolan films. It isn't anything mind blowing, but is a well made and interesting neo-noir
Final Score: 8.5/10
Back to the Future (1985)
The Future Is Now!!!
Back To The Future is one my favorite summer movies, it has everything a summer movie needs, comedy, suspense, a bit of action, and an eccentric old professor. And since today was the day that the future was predicted to be in (by the way I'm not reviewing Part 2, because I don't like it), I decided today would be the best day to review this movie.
One aspect that I like about this movie is the contrast between the two different decades. For instance, when the movie begins we see the 80s where people wear strange looking clothes and Huey Lewis songs always play, then it cuts to the past with incredibly basic looking houses and cars and even the songs are different. That's kinda the reason I give this movie a pass with some of the cheesy 80s aspects, since it help differentiate the two different decades.
Another thing I love about this movie is the way the story feels like it would be in a cheesy 50s or 60s comic, except it takes place in the 1980s. The tone of the film is almost always adventurous and fun, like what summer should be like: adventurous and fun.
Also the movie has many iconic aspects, the Delorean, Doc Brown, the weird Rube Goldberg machine at the beginning and so many other little things.
Anyways, Back To The Future is a movie I think everyone should see in their lifetime, not because it is emotionally powerful or philosophical, but because it a quintessential summer movie.
Final Score: 9/10
Sleepy Hollow (1999)
A Guilty Pleasure Halloween Flick
We have now come to October, my favorite month of the year, which means I'll be reviewing horror films all throughout the month. Lets start it off with an adaptation of a classic story directed by Tim Burton, that adaptation being "Sleepy Hollow."
Probably the best thing about this movie is it's visual style. It has a great Gothic, moody environment, a very classic horror feel to it all. It is the usual Tim Burton style. You can see it in the cinematography, the production design, in almost every frame you have these great visuals. Its to bad the rest of the movie wasn't as great.
Its not that the rest of the movie was bad, it just it was just
OK. The acting is fine and sometimes entertaining (Christopher Walken much
), but it isn't anything all that notable. The music did serve the style of the film well, but it wasn't anything memorable. The story was somewhat unique (probably because it was written by the guy who wrote "Se7en") but not as strange or out there as some of Tim Burton's other movies. There were also some uses of CGI in the movie that were pretty bad, and I know that the film also has a bit of a cartoonish tone in some scenes, but even then the effects were still surprisingly bad.
Even though I have been criticizing this movie for not being very unique, besides the visual aspect, I still find it very entertaining and I would definitely watch it for next Halloween. Its kind of a guilty pleasure movie, its technically kinda sloppy but still enjoyable. I'd compare it to my reaction to Jurassic World,I didn't think it was very unique, but it was enjoyable none the less.
Final Score: 6/10
The Village (2004)
A Decent Movie With A Terrible Ending
Sorry if this review took a while to come out, just been busy with school.
Anyways we continue on with Shyamalan Month as we go onto his 4th film, The Village. Now this isn't the point in his career where I felt like he went into complete insanity (thats for next time), but this isn't his high point either. But lets get started on this.
First lets start out with the positives. I feel like from a technical stand point it actually isn't all that bad. The cinematography is nice, some the acting is good, it has cool scenery, it has an AMAZING score,and is generally good. Its mostly with the story that the movie falls apart.
While the story isn't as bad as Shyamalan's later movies, it still has a lot of problems with it. I won't really go into much detail, mostly because most of the problems are technically spoilers, but I will talk about the acting. Some of the acting is actually not that bad like Adrien Brody's character and Joaquin did pretty good, but some of the others actors seemed really bored and uninterested, also some of the dialogue was pretty hokey.
Anyways the movie was just alright in my mind. I probably would have liked it more if there was better acting and a more well structured story.
Also, for those who have seen the movie, you are probably wondering what I think of the ending. Well here are my thoughts:
https://40.media.tumblr.com/cb5ec065dc2ae5ffd0f5b9d53440f312/tumblr_ inline_nt3jtin9Jt1rximkx_540.jpg
That is all.
Final Score: 5/10
Signs (2002)
A Bit Of A Departure
Now we get to Shyamalan's third film, "Signs". This is also where I feel his movies started to decline. But we will get to why in this review.
Now something I should mention is that I don't think this is a terrible movie, but I wouldn't consider it good. But there are a good amount of people who do like this movie, but this is my opinion.
One thing I should mention is that a lot of the acting is very robotic, not as robotic as Shyamalan's later films but still noticeable. Also there are the child characters who act like adults and some of the adult characters act like kids. Also Shyamalan does the Hitchcock-Tarantino thing where he casts himself as a character in the movie. But here's the thing, with Hitchcock he cast himself as a background character, not an important character, and Tarantino can actually act. Which is important when you are making yourself a somewhat major character. So yeah, Shyamalan isn't a very good actor, which is made more clear by his next movie.
Also now we have a slower paced movie now then the last one, which would be fine if it wasn't so boring. That's kinda the major problem with this movie is that it isn't very interesting, not even the aliens are all that interesting. There is also some attempted suspense but that also fails, but there are some good moments though. Sorry if I don't have much to say about this movie, its just a bunch of boring stuff that happens and that's it.
And for those wondering why I didn't talk about the ending, I would recommend you watch this analysis of the movie that talks about the ending. Even though I don't agree with his opinion about the movie, he does give a good point about the ending
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3Ju05PuiyQ
Unbreakable (2000)
His 2nd Best Movie
So continuing Shyamalan month we will now review what many consider his "2nd best movie" Unbreakable. And I would have to agree on that, even though there are some strange aspects. But we will go over that later on.
One thing to keep in mind is that this isn't a very fast moving film, it very slowly paced. But I honestly like a super hero based story line that can run a little slower than most of the action films of that time. Also I think the pace helps create a mysterious atmosphere. Also this is one of the few Shyamalan movies where I actually enjoyed the twist ending. I won't spoil it, but I think its very fitting.
There are some weird things about the movies. There was the whole unnecessary M Night Shyamalan cameo, some of the acting was kinda lame, and the pace at times did feel a bit to slow. Also there were a few continuity errors I noticed through out the story. Probably the thing that bugged me the most was that there was some of that pretentious Shyamalan dialogue about "everything has a purpose" and what not. But those are really the only big problems I have.
Even though it is very flawed, I think Unbreakble is still a movie you should see for its atmosphere and mystery, and it is incredibly engrossing even with these flaws
Final Score:7.5/10
The Sixth Sense (1999)
The Perfect Ghost Movie
Even thought this isn't the beginning of the month, but for the next month and a half I will be talking about all of M. Night Shyamalan's movies.
All of them
..(shutters)
But luckily I will be taking about his first and best movie, The Sixth Sense. This is one my all time favorite movies, and definitely my favorite ghost movies.
One of my favorite aspects about this movie is the unsettling atmosphere it creates with some of these scenarios. A lot of scenes that could be boring are the exact opposite because of how much tension there is in almost every scene. It isn't really all that scary but the scenes that are scary, are more effective because of the tension produced.
Another thing that was amazing about this movie, that was absent in Shyamalan's other movies, were the performances. The most notable performance of the movie being from Haley Joel Osment, who gives probably one of the best child performances ever. Child actors aren't really known for being very good, but this was an absolutely amazing performance. Bruce Willis is also very good in this as well, playing the child psychiatrist who tries to help the boy. But Haley Joel Osment is what make this movie legendary (in my opinion)
And the final thing about this movie that is love is that you can almost always notice something different every time you watch it. It almost always a different experience when watch it again.
So to end this off, I think The Sixth Sense is absolutely perfect suspense mystery and I feel it gets better every time I watch it.
Jurassic World (2015)
A Fun But Cheesy Thrill Ride
Well, this was a movie I kinda had to watch twice mostly because my first experience with the movie wasn't that great. So I watched it a second time and now I have slightly different opinions now.
So to start with some basic opinions, I feel that Jurassic World is cheesy as hell, but it is still a lot of fun and a lot better compared to the other Jurassic Park sequels.
Lets start off with the positives, the effects are pretty good. I love how some of the dinosaurs have a great presence in the scenes they are in, they feel like they are really there at times. Chris Pratt was good in the movie as well and had some good comedic scenes. But mostly the movie is just a really fun ride, its very enjoyable to watch.
Now for the bad, there are a lot of kinda uninteresting characters in the movie, *cough* Obligatory child characters *cough*, and also some annoying ones as well. Another thing about the movie as a whole is that it is incredibly cheesy, cheesy to a whole new level at times, but it is kinda funny though. But the thing that annoyed me was this one character who had the great idea of wanting to militarize dinosaurs, which if it was just a joke then that would be fine, but they keep mentioning it and the character is just talking about nothing but that every time he is on screen he was just obnoxious. It was really satisfying to see him get eaten by the raptors also.
So finally, Jurassic World was very fun but some of the aspects of the movie kinda make bad from a critical stand point, but it is still very enjoyable but not a good movie from a technical stand point.
Final Score: 5.5/10
Big Hero 6 (2014)
Another Overrated Disney Movie
Big Hero 6 is another one of those recent Disney movies that I would call overrated. I don't think the movie is bad, I just think people kinda over glorified it, and I definitely feel it didn't deserve the Best Animated Feature Oscar. But again, I do not think this is a bad movie.
Lets start with the positives. The animation in this movie is great.There are a lot of moments that show the scale of some scenes amazingly, especially in a car chase near the middle of the movie.
The part of the movie that felt a little flimsy. Most of the supporting characters just seemed to be stereotypes, for example: The trendy character, the stoner type character, the hard core extreme character,etc. Well, everyone besides Baymax. Also, I wish there were more scenes where Baymax is at low battery, that was hilarious.
Also this next part of the review will contain spoilers, so if you haven't seen the movie just skip to the final score.
The other thing that bugged me was the last act of the movie. When they were talking about the professors missing daughter, I thought that they were saying she died, which would have been a lot more effect on the viewer than what happens next. They find a way to get her out of the other dimension alive (even though in one scene it seemed like a month passed, which means she would've been in that dimension for a month without lack of oxygen). That kinda made the movie feel like there was no sense of consequence in the movie. Unless if you're the sympathetic bad guy, then you're ass can go to jail if you're in a Disney movie. Also, am I the only one who feels like the ending is a rip off of The Iron Giant. No? Just me? OK.
Anyways, Big Hero 6 was fun in some places but mostly underwhelming.
Final Score: 6/10
Dune (1984)
A Bad Choice For Director
Dune is a very, very, VERY strange film. This was the first movie made by David Lynch that I have seen and that was probably a mistake because this movie is infamous for being one the worst book to movie adaptations ever. But for me, I have never read the book so this mainly on the film by itself. Also, if I ever read the book in the future I might do an Extra Thoughts post to see if anything changed.
The first thing I need to point out is that in this movie, for some reason almost half of the dialogue is all inner monologue. Like when a character is speaking through their thoughts. And it isn't just one character, its like all of them, and it kinda feels pointless.
Also there are a lot of pointless, or just confusing scenes. Like one scene has a bunch of the antagonists just doing strange and random things, and it has no point to the plot.
Some of the special effects are also kinda outdated. Like a lot of them were very obvious green screen effects, but they still have nice designs though. It even has some early CGI in it.
There were also a great number of cheesy or just unintentionally hilarious moments. I'm glad I got to see it in a theater for a David Lynch film fest, because the crowd experience made it even better. Some of the lines were so hilarious that I sometimes quote them today.
"Where have my feelings gone?"- Paul Atreides
Also the main character was really bland. Though apparently the actor for Paul ( Kyle MacLachlan), this was his first role in any type of movie, so for that I don't think he's that bad. Its just that his character is written horribly. His character is supposed to be like a savior for these people and all he does is kill people and make speeches. Also I laugh really hard when characters would mention all these weird science fiction type names then say "
. and Paul."
But anyways, Dune was kind of a mess. This didn't seem like a good idea for David Lynch looking at his other movies. It was also incredibly confusing at times, but it did have interesting effects
. I guess.
Final Score: 3/10
Jurassic Park III (2001)
The Ultimate Trainwreck
Sorry if it took me a while to catch up with this one, I was out in California for the week. And now, we are on
to this
If you haven't seen my other Jurassic Park reviews, I like the first, I find the second hilarious and I find the third one....
WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED!! How, HOW was this even made!. This is one of those movies that is impressively bad. And its not even funny bad, its just a horrible experience to have to sit through. So now I will explain this experience to you now.
First lets start off with the characters, all of the characters from the previous movies are now just bland and generic hero characters, and the new characters are just unbearable at times with how idiotic they are. Oh, and the acting is also terrible.
The effects were actually good at first but then later on they also messed that up by making the dinosaurs seem like stretchy rubber action figures. I do appreciate that they did use practical effects a number of times. It doesn't make up for the terrible characters but its a plus.
Some of the events and scenarios don't even make sense. Like when one of the dinosaurs ate one of the characters phones (don't ask) and when the dinosaur comes back when they don't notice him (even though he is a dinosaur, which means when he steps he creates vibrations and they didn't even notice tha- I MEAN SERIOUSLY!!) and they finally notice him because the phone starts ringing in his stomach
.. There are many other nonsensical moments in the movie I could make fun of but if we did that we would be here for days.
Just
.Just stay far away from this movie. And I have to unfortunately have since I bought the Jurassic Park trilogy not knowing about 2 and 3, which means I get to have the really good movie along with the other two massive train-wrecks. Yay
.
Final Score: 3/10