Maybe I should stop watching movies all together.
There I was, about to invest three hours into a movie about a man I thought to be one of the most interesting characters in human history, and it left me totally underwhelmed. In fact, I quit at the 2:20 hour mark.
This is not "The story of J. Robert Oppenheimer's role in the development of the atomic bomb during World War II." This was more about american communist paranoia, about political intrique then it was about a build up to an event that changed the world. And even that, the Trinity test, was a massive dissapointment to lock at. It didn't look like an atomic explosion but rather just a giant gasoline fire, which it probably was. No fascination or awe or even fear, on my part about the power of nature they just unleashed. Why not make a movie about the project, the challenges, the difficulties when all you can show us of Oppenheimer is - what really ? What did he actually do, what were his contibutions other then sitting in meatings and hearing others talk.
I would like to say the acting was great but I can't as there are hardly scenes where anyone has more then two lines of dialogue in a row. Or longer scenes at all for that matter. You try to put yourself in one scene and it switches to the next, and the next and so on. Add to that jumping throught timelines and you can be left utterly confused. Which will probably be the reason it get's tons of Oscar's.
For me it's a soulless, lifeless and, dare I say it, boring movie stuffed with a massive cast that seemed so wasted on this.
Whenever you´ve had a bad day try a Muppet movie. Works for me every time.
I´ve seen Jurassic Park a couple times over the years and I´m always amazed how well this stands up to to later movies. This never looked old, not 10 years after, not 20 years after it was made.
Harris writes historical fiction. He puts a fictional story inside a historical event. I just mentioned that because I've read some comments saying they don't believe something like this happened. It's not based on anything that happened it's him toying with an idea.
I am a huge fan of Robert Harris and have read about all of his books. Many of his novels have been made into movies so I wasn't surprised "Munich" did, too. I can't say how it compares to the book because it is just about the only one I haven't read yet. So I look just at the movie.
Concerning the story - like I mentioned it didn't happen. But it could have, I guess. And that's what I like about Harris. He gives you something to think about. What if Chamberlain had had this info ? Would he still sign the agreement? Did he, like the story want's to make us believe, bought time ? And what if he didn't sign ? Would it ultimately changed anything ? No one can really answer that. It's all theoretical.
I think they got the look alright. You get something from the atmosphere of the time in both, England and Germany. Especially the German arrogance was displayed rather well. Jeremy Irons seem like the reincarnation of Chamberlain from all I know of the historical footage. On the other side Matthes wasn't a perfect look alike. Nevertheless his portrayal of Hitler was very uncomfortable to watch. And I mean that as a compliment. As a whole I did enjoy the movie very much. It's more along the lines of classic film making far removed from blockbuster cinema.
I really enjoyed it. Of course a biopic, any biopic, is much more engaging if you want to know about the character portrayed. Maybe I had a bit of an advantage not knowing very much about Tolkien. Just the basic facts that I gathered from some documentary on one of the LOTR bonus discs. I am sure there is some artistic freedom involved and that facts are sacrificed on the altar of drama.
It was interesting to see where the ideas for his stories originated from. I wouldn't have minded some added running time to help adding more depth to certain aspects.
Like everything it is a matter of taste but all things considered one of the better movies I watched this year.
This isn't a war movie it's a movie about war. What it does to and with people. How soldiers are used, betrayed and lied to.
But be aware because this isn't shiny hollywood-like war. No, this is gritty and dirty - it shows the futility of war not the heroics.
The main problem with the movie is that if you´ve seen the first two you know what will happen so there isn´t much suspense. On the other hand I wouldn´t recommend watching it at first because than it takes away something from the earlier movies. In itself it is not a bad movie. So there is your dilemma.
To be honest I wasn´t interested much in this at first. I feared they would wrap the story of legendary Jesse Owens in the american hero blanket. The typical good vs. evil movie. Hollywood has had a tendency to overdo it at times. Instead they managed the balance between the sport and the political side and also showed that in America too there were issues concerning racism.
On the production side I liked the look of the movie very much. Visualy it was very good. The scenes in the Olympia Stadium in Berlin looked great.
Probably the best of the Asterix Movies. It´s my favorite for sure.
First off, great movie ! Not that overdrawn Hollywood stuff. Much more realistic. Really pulled me in and the fighting felt very tense.
As for the story I have to admit I hadn't known it before. Doesn't surprise me one bit though. But it's good to see that those things come to light at last and the soldiers get the recognition they deserve. One of the sad truth of life. Too many things have happened, and are still happening, we don't know about.
Fu**ing politicians always come out on top. Always have been, Always will be.
Yes, story is thin. Characters are weak - but, hey, it´s Transformers not Shakespeare. Liked it better than the last one. Could have been half an hour shorter, though.
Animation isn't bad. But it's yet another interpretation and the horror element with all those monsters doesn't work for me.
If you've watched Neeson's latest movies you know what to expect. If you're looking for anything more than that, you shouldn't bother watching.
And this comes from the same guy who did the Starsky and Hutch remake and the Hangover Trilogy ? I can almost not believe that.
This movie is sick, and it has to be. It pulls you into a spiral of madness, and you can see all the pieces falling into place, until there is no escape und you get: The Joker.
The look, the atmosphere, the music and last, but not least, Phoenixs outstanding performance makes this movie an absolute masterpiece. I don't know if it will recieve any Oscars, it's not the type of movie that does usually. But it sure would deserve it. But even if it doesn't it is one of the highlights of the year.
It's a superhero movie - you take it for what it is or you leave it be.
As such it was entertaining but at times visualy overloaded. Probably much better on the big screen as you can barely make out details on TV. But it never really felt like they where floating underwater, more like they where hanging in space. But you can't blame a superhero movie for not getting the physics right. All the while I was waiting for Willem DaFoe to do the betraying stuff because he often does the bad guy, right ? If that was intention when they cast him it was genius
Overall looking forward for the next one.
My sole reason for watching this was because it has Cate Blanchett in it. I have not seen any of the other Ocean movies.
As far as heist movies go it was OK. At the same time it's rather generic and, aside from one final twist , predictable. Plus a couple of plot holes / logic errors. So, I'll just say it is OK for watching once but nothing I'd watch again.
The movie itself is beyond doubt. It is one of the great Hollywood epics with a line up of stars that almost feels unreal.
One thing was disturbing my viewing experience. This is one of the very few movies made in Cinerama which means it was filmed with three cameras simultaneously. And those three strips are then put together. It's made for a curved screen - imagine that in 1962 !! From what I gather the result in cinemas was breathtaking. I rermember watching it on TV way back and that must have been a "normal" version. Now I watched the BluRay which has a great picture in general but those three camera shots are now side by side again and on a flat screen this has serious downsides:
Perspectives aren't right. If you have, say, a horse running across the screen it's performing a curve.
Actors standing on the sides don't seem to look at each other when talking.
In one scene Henry Fonda's shooting at a buffalo. His rifle is pointing slight to the right and when he shoots the animal to his left is hit.
In general you are always aware when the three cameras are used and it can be very confusing. It took me a while to get used to it.
If you are a fan of SciFi/Fantasy genre and are interested in special effects you should watch this. Harryhausen was a master and a genius and laid the foundation for almost every film to come that uses some kind of effect.
I especially like the resume at the end becuase as far as I´m concerned it is already happening.
Contains major spoilers !!!!!
Huge and utterly dissapointing. After TFA I said this movie would make or break the story. For me it broke.
Where to begin? Let´s start with my biggest problem.
After that rebel cruisers bridge was hit and Leia was thrown into space we saw her drifting in the cold empty vacuum of space. This was a powerful scene and I had tears welling up in my eyes thinking that would be a great ending for the character dying how she always lived. Fighting. I did not realise, or care, that it would have been a huge coincidence had they written this scene at that point not knowing Carrie would pass away. But as I said powerful scene. And then she opens her eyes and floated back into the ship still beeing alive. At that point I was seriously considering leaving the cinema. It´s scifi but, please, without as much as a hint of an explanation that is just awful writing. It is Disney all over it. Anyway I stayed and watched the rest but in general I was done with the movie.
There are tons of other things I didn´t like.
way to much unnessesary and stupid humor. Most of the time it does not fit and just destroys scenes. Holding for General Hux - that might have been OK once but two or three times it just becomes goofy. And there is more of this througout the movie.
the writing was all over the place. So much things going on that do little to nothing for the general plot and just add playtime. Like that whole thing with the codebreaker, going to the casino. Just sugarcoating CGI.
and speaking of playtime - way too long. About five times towards the end I thought it was over. It could have ended when the reached the rebel base- no let´s add another battle. When they realised they where trapped. With Luke going out to face Kylo. At some point I would have been OK with the movie ending with the First Order defeating the rebels, everyone dying, and the franchise done with. But of course that is not happening and the movie ends.....no, just show us a kid with a broom looking at the stars and indicate he could be the hero of a future movie.
in many ways the continuation of storylines is not satisfiying. They introduce Snoke in the first movie without an explanation who he is, where he comes from and how he got there. Would have been OK, could have done later. So now he´s dead without so much as a fight and there are questions left to be answered.
what about Rey ? Are we really to believe her parents were some drunk and drifting scavengers that sold her for money like Ren said ? That would be very stupid because how in the universe could she master the Force in ways even the best Jedis or Sith couldn´t without as much as years of training. Another void in the storytelling.
too many, shall I call them, homage scenes ? A lot of times I felt I had already seen this movie. The scene in the throne room f.e. Snoke = Emperor, Rey = Luke, Ben = Vader, the destruction of the rebel fleet playing in the background and the Ben killing Snoke is like Vader killing the Emperor. I know that was said about TFA as well but I feel it´s much worse here. The Battle of Hoth reviseted would be another thing where they re-did some scenes to a T. All that was left was tow cables.
Those are just some examples of the things I disliked and maybe there could be satisfactory explanation later. There is a lot more but it would take too much time to write it down. But I doubt I will go to the cinema for the next one.
To be fair there where some positives in this movie.
I liked the scenes with Rey and Luke althought they did not really lead anywhere. But some nice insights into Lukes story after ROTJ.
The conversations between Kylo and Rey where very interesting and I thought there was really potential to steer the story to something new and exciting. Not happening.
So overall I was not satisfied. I really like TFA, it built some expectations that where all crushed with this. As far as I am concerned I am done with this new story. I am not not very eager to find out what else the canibalise and how they try to write themselves out of this. There is nothing left.
This is my view of the movie. If you liked it I´m happy for you.
May the Force be with us. Always.
The movie that propably had the most impact on my life.
I was little over 10 at the time I saw it first. My dad brought it home on VHS. From the first second my eyes were glued to the screen. Immediately after it was over I rewound the tape and watched it again which up to today, close to 35 later, I haven´t done with any other movie. I recorded it on audio tape so I could listen to it, even wrote down the whole thing on paper (that was well before the internet, folks). We re-ennacted the scenes, I had memorized every line. I cannot recall how many times I`ve seen it since then.
I would give it 11 if possible.
This is how you do an action movie. Just the right amount of everything without being over the top. Spot on !
Reboot this as much as you want Maguire was the best Spider-Man.
This is neither an action fireworks nor has it endless battle scenes. You should know that before you watch.
It is a slow build up that can be percieved as running a bit too long. But I really liked it. It's an honest movie, well produced. It looks and feels real. And so does the battle once it takes place. I so appreciate doing this not in CGI but putting the camera right in the middle of it. As for the historical accuracy or how it relates to the source material, I do not know. But it also isn't that important to me as this is a movie that, first and foremost, is there to entertain.
All actors are doing really well but Sean Harris was the one who really stood out in my opinion.
All those Oscars for what exactly ? OK, the style and filming is good, looks more real with the shaky camera. Acting is OK but I don´t think it warrants a nomination for an Oscar. But the biggest issue - where is the story? This is just a chain of short stories whos only connection seems to be the general location and some of the players. You learn very little about the characters and their motivations. Character developement ? Nope. Therefore I found it impossible to relate to or feel anything for them. In fact I was mentally out of this after an hour.
And the number of errors in this movie is extreme (check IMDB) which could have been excused because a lot of war-movies have them. But with all the flaws in the story the pile becomes just higher.
And something else entirely: I wish we had ratings by demographic. Look at IMDB you see the rating drops with age.
Great movie !
You can watch a movie like this anytime because it doesn`t need CGI and SFX, it tells a stroy. And one that in todays society might be more true than in the 90s.
It doesn`t take much to put one over the hill.
It's not only gross negligence on behalf of Boeing it's downright criminal. People should have gone to jail. Muilenburg should be in prison instead of receiving a 62 m $ farewell present. But as usual corporations just pay fines and are off the hook. And even the 2.5 billion are not hurting them as much as one might think. Yes, their gross profit stumbles in 2020 but their overall from 2018 to September 2021 is still over 20 billion $. And it will continue to climb.
Sadly this doesn't apply only to Boeing. It's like that all over the world. There is no responsiblity from manufactures, it's not about making the best product. Everything revolves around money, shares, stock prices, payments of boni.
It's a cancer that will be our downfall.
There is nothing original or remarkable in this movie. It's an honest action movie that doesn't try to be anything else. The cast is clearly what pulls you into this movie. A little bit less running time would have helped the pace as it drags a little bit after they went down with the helicopter. The ending was a bit dissapointing . Soundtrack is really good, though. Overall a good "7", something you can watch once.
The idea of a child beeing born on Mars sounded intriguing. So the movie starts interesting but quickly turns into a generic love story with a predictable plot and a forseeable ending. That needn´t be a bad thing but what didn´t make this work for me is the whole setup. The story supposedly takes place in 2034 and it doesn´t show. People are driving decade old cars for instance. And it seems to be pretty easy to just steal cars everywhere and drive around in them from state to state without beeing spotted althought they seem to have pretty good sattelite surveillance. I know that´s not the point of the story but you could have told it pretty much in any time period one way or the other. If the SciFi part doesn´t add anything to it beside the distance why use it at all? That all aside technically this is a nice movie. But, as I said, for me that is like getting an empty present.
2h and 40 mins is waayyy too long for this kind of movie. It's like watching gras grow - you know it does but you can't see it. Every scene is streched out to the max. You could have cut an hour out of the movie and not miss anything of the plot. I am not opposed to long running movies but they should have content.
I read everywhere this has a great ending but I can' t tell. I was so bored after an hour that I couldn't bring myself to sit in front of the TV for another one and a half.
Dragged Across Concrete - That is exactly how I felt
This is actually a good movie. It´s not a hollow, CGI´d to death blockbuster with tons of explosions and little content. Although the story is not something new it is worth considering.
