This was a huge step down from the previous film. I thought the first act was straight-up bad and not at all enjoyable. The COVID mentions felt dated and overly forced, and this film only just came out. That doesn't bode well for how this film will age. However, once the film gets going it gets better and is enjoyable, and they drop the COVID stuff, which in turn, actually makes the COVID mentions at the beginning feel even worse and more pointless than they had felt initially.
I thought that the plot felt far more simple and extremely predictable compared to the first film. I also thought that the characters (aside from Blanc), were largely much worse - both in writing, and performances given by the cast.
Daniel Craig and Benoit Blanc is just as good as he was in the first film, and he absolutely steals the show every time he's on screen. I also found Janelle Monáe as both Andi and Helen to be decent. Edward Norton's billionaire character, Miles Bron, was a mixed bag, and although he started out quite interesting with some potential, I found his character to inevitably be overly shallow and poorly written.
As far as the rest of the cast went? It wasn't so good. Most of them, such as Whiskey, were simply bland and forgettable. But others were downright awful characters that were overly shallow and just plain annoying. Kate Hudson's 'Birdie' was probably the worst offender here, and I found that her character lowered the quality of every scene she appeared in.
I realise that this review has been largely negative, but what I will say is that Glass Onion is still a mostly fun and entertaining experience for the majority of its runtime. I had a lot of fun watching it (aside from the first twenty minutes or so), and I don't regret it at all. I'd recommend watching it if you enjoyed the original film, but I just don't think it's anywhere close to being anything great like its predecessor was.
Not as solid as I hoped. It's confusing for sure, but they could have done so so much more with this concept and world. But they didn't. It has left us with a story that is interesting, yet unrelatable. Things move way too fast and I would have preferred a longer runtime because it is that intriguing. And while the ending is great, the way that Nolan tries to merge the two viewpoints isn't done well. Leaving me feeling like my dad when he watches Transformers (2007) and asks who is who.
It needed to be simplified a little more because everything else is amazing. The effects, the overarching story, the acting. The music, however, is terrible and overblown to give a sense of action when there isn't enough happening. The only part where it worked well was in the final fight, but even then it needed to be quieter.
The cinematography is good as always, but I feel it is lacking compared to Nolan's previous work.
When it comes to action and the draw to this movie, the reversal shots. They deliver, but they are too and far between. It gives us great scenes of reversal action, then one drawn-out segment at the end that doesn't feel rewarding as like I said before, it isn't merged well.
This movie may grow on me more after a second viewing, but it left me in a state that I don't wish to see it again any time soon. It is not fun enough to see again, it is not engaging enough to associate and learn from. Something that Nolan has done well at in the past is his ability to leave questions with the audience after they finish his films. Here, it just provides answers and left me unsatisfied in that regard.
7/10
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
All work and no play makes Jack a dul boy
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
All work and no plany Makes ack a dull boy
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
All work and no play makes Jack a dul boy
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
All work and no play make Jack a Dull boy
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
All workand no play maks Jack a dull boy
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
All work and no plany Makes ack a dull boy
All work and no play make Jack a Dull boy
Wonder Woman is... well... wonderful! This movie is a true representation of the characters I have grown up with and loved from DC comics and the justice league animated series. This movie is about how Diana the princess of Themyscira becomes Wonder Woman, a classic fish out of water tale of innocence and heroism.
The chemistry between the two leads feels so natural and it is because of this chemistry that Steve's sacrifice is so heartbreaking . While the movie may not be as layered or multifaceted as other DCEU offerings such as Man of Steel, making use of a more classic 'by the numbers' superhero formula, it is undoubtedly a more meaningful movie. It shows us the true nature of humanity through the eyes of an Amazon who has no preconceptions or history with our species. It shows us the ugliness of mankind, how cheaply we value human life with the wars we create, and how stereotypical gender roles have been/are to the detriment of women without bashing us over the head with a heavy-handed feminist agenda. On the other hand, through her eyes, we also see the things humanity is capable of through the power of love.
Despite the importance of this movie, Wonder Woman doesn't depress or bog the audience down. It conveys these important messages within the context of an uplifting film filled with fun, action and romance.
Critics have voiced their approval for this movie, but that shouldn't make fans of the DCEU fearful. Wonder Woman seamlessly fits in with the DCEU, making use of similar colour palates, action direction, and story telling. While this is a movie all little girls must watch, it is truly a movie for everyone... it is simply... WONDERFUL!
Black Swan. Everything about this movie is fantastic: the score by Clint Mansell, the choreography, Natalie Portman's performance. Darren Aronofsky put a lot of effort into directing this one: the way the camera works around the mirrors without being seen, the artistically place shots, just being an absolute genius with mirrors in general.
The constant shift between diegetic and Non-diegetic music also helps to subconsciously blur the line between reality and fiction. A conflict that occurs between Natalie Portman's character but on a significantly stronger psychological scale. Darren Aronofsky has proved in this movie that he's able to excel in shot after shot consistency as well as effective use of lighting in certain scenes to cause drama.
All of the casting was great in this movie, especially for Mila Kunis's character. She was perfect to play the carefree naughty girl in this movie. This movie does a great job showing the pressure and drama in these dance groups, once you hit a certain age. Other than that, I just love trippy movies, where the character descends into madness. One flaw I had with it though is that the ending did seem a little rushed but it's Darren Aronofsky wanted to tell the story he did for a reason and I can't argue with that.
I'm sure you guys have already seen it, but if you haven't I'd strongly recommend it.
History became legend. Legend became myth.
And for two and a half thousand years, the ring passed out of all knowledge.
Based on J.R.R. Tolkien's epic masterpiece "The Lord of the Rings", Peter Jackson took up the challenge, that for the longest time was told about Tolkien's book: "Too complicated to bring a true version onto film, it cannot be done."
Describing "The Lord of the Rings" to the uninitiated may perhaps be best compared trying to describe the taste of wine: Sweet, a little bitter, and intoxicating. Yet to those, who have never tasted wine, the meaning behind this description will forever elude them.
What makes this trilogy stand out amongst other equally brilliant movies, is each individual aspect of this movie is an astonishing work of art and ties "The Lord of the Rings" to something larger than the sum of its parts. The cinematography is breathtaking, in the most literal sense of the word. At times you will hold your breath being consumed by the sheer beauty of Middle Earth. You will quickly forget your surroundings and be plunged into this world. The original score composed by Howard Shore can be considered a masterpiece and Shore's magnum opus, his most brilliant work to date. Inspired by Richard Wagner, he composed the soundtrack around 80 different Leitmotifs, each focusing on an individual character/area/scene with recurring melodies throughout the trilogy. At the time of production, the most popular composers were James Horner and Hans Zimmer, and the music scene was quite astounded at Jackson's choice for the relatively unknown Shore. Jackson said his decision heavily depended on Shore's very unique style (as seen in 'The Cell') and his ability to bring something unique to each of his work.
The (special) effects are equally amazing and more importantly, believable. You will never feel like "Ah, special effects!", but be mesmerized by their authenticity. It almost seems nonsensical to talk about the performance by leading and supporting roles. They were real. I did not see them in their previous roles or as actors, they completely filled out their roles and added their own personality.
"The Lord of the Rings" is certainly not perfect, but if you came to expect perfection, you will forever be feeling disappointed.
It is however the closest thing to perfection as one might get without feeling pretentious.
If you watch this movie for the first time and have very high expectations from all the positive reviews, forget the reviews and watch it with an open mind, but also don't watch it thinking it could never live up to your high expectations, as you might miss out.
I, for one, will be watching this movie for many many years to come, and it has become quite the tradition to watch it at least once a year.
10/10 - You will witness the events unfold through the eyes of the Fellowship and come across joy, sorrow and even great despair. A true work of art that should not be missed.
"The Quest stands upon the edge of a knife. Stray but a little, and it will fail, to the ruin of all. Yet hope remains while the Company is true. " Galadriel
I went to see Limitless at the theatre back in 2011 and I knew that it was going to pass on tv so I decided to watch it again. I pretty much remembered everything but there were a few elements that I didn't recall well. I have to say that like in the first watch I had a great time!
The concept is very cool, a pill that allow your brain to work in a super scale. You become a super intelligent person, it's like you have mental powers and you are capable of doing anything, your abilities are limitless.
The camera work and some of the effects are great and perfectly suits the surreal atmosphere of this film about the drug that will revolutionize the world.
Throughout the film the story is very unpredictable and full of suspense but there's also some plot wholes but when you put everything together, the good things about it overcome the bad.
The performances are great, nothing knew to say about the great Robert De Niro but is Bradley Cooper who really shines in this film with an amazing performance. It was with this role that I started to look at him in a different way, the way that I look at him today. An actor that is capable of doing more complicated roles than the usual comedies or ordinary romantic comedies.
Overall, Limitless is super entertaining and it's definitely a fun ride!
We already know that the market for romantic comedies in Hollywood is somewhat saturated, but when it comes to independent romantic comedies there is something that still manages to captivate me about them. Perhaps the fact that they are smaller productions make them more honest and that "indie feeling" in the air seems to make them more realistic. What If is one of those cases.
Wallace just come out of a relationship completely heartbroken. It is not on his intention to fall in love quickly, but at a party he knows the cousin of his best friend, a girl called Chantry and they immediately create a bound between them. The chemistry between the two was absolutely spontaneous but at the end of the night Chantry says that she has a boyfriend.
Although the formula has been used countless times, and the more predictable that the story may be, the plot is well structured, the characters are quite nice and the humor is very intelligent with a lot of charm to the mix. The use of visual animation on the film is very interesting considering that Chantry works in animation, we see all different figures that illustrate the situations in which the characters are in that specific time of the film. The use of indie rock soundtrack goes really well and fits perfectly the atmosphere.
Daniel Radcliffe is increasingly moving away from the role of the famous wizard, Harry Potter. When the saga ended I had my doubts, such a remarkable role in the career of an actor can be something worrying, but what is certain is that Radcliffe has proven to be a good actor and can do other styles. Here in the lead role, he is able to make us believe every attitude and feeling of his character. For his first romcom he did very well. Zoe Kazan is absolutely lovely, a very cute and awkward performance that touches the heart. The chemistry existing between the two actors is remarkable. The supporting cast, Adam Driver, just to name one, were also pretty great.
Despite all the predictability that the story may have, when What If comes to the end it will leave you with a huge smile on your face. Delightful.