I've had an amazing experience watching the movie premiere in Venice, I've been waiting for this movie for a long time and I was not disappointed in the slightest.
It's a gorgeous movie, it's disturbing but moving at the same time, violent at times, but also subtle. It's a different and fresh spin on the character and on the cinecomic genre as a whole and Phoenix delivers an amazing performance portraying a version of the Joker we've never seen before, he's not the villain of someone else's story, he is the hero and villain of HIS own story, and the audience can be orrified by him, but we can't help but feel for him at times.
Without giving anything away I would recommend to go and see the movie not expecting to go and see an action packed, but gritty cinecomic, I suggest going in and watch it pretending that it's not even about a famous comic villain, but simply a movie, I think that people will appreciate it more in that way, not comparing it to the cinecomics we've seen before, but thinking of it as a normal movie.
P.S.: People will of course compare Phoenix to Ledger, I don't think it's possible, they give a totally different percormance because they portray totally different versions of the character, and I think it's going to be hard to compare them, you either prefere Ledger's version or Phoenix's but only based on the character, the actor's performances cannot be judged by comparison, they're both great. Just enjoy the movie
This is a review of the first episode only.
At first it looks like any kind of psychological thrillers. A blind woman goes missing, returns after 7 years with her eyesight restored. You can say nothing is special about that, we've seen plenty of shows with a similar plot. You're then after presented with a set of characters that are each different in character, but they are all tied up by diversity, and their uprisal from society, and in their personal changing, like crossing a line, "from childhood to adulthood". I will say their presentation came out a little flat, but I do have hope for more expanding. All we know after this episode is just the basics.
The episode then leads up to a specific moment, that I will not explain to avoid spoilers, but throws the near-end of the show into a kind of "journey" that I personally found very inspiring, and it's almost like a sort of poetry, the music, the colors, the words, all tied up perfectly.
Sounds and seems like a lot, but in reality I can't say I'm left with high expectations to this show really, might sound negative, but I think it's actually quite perfect. This is a show you need to enjoy lightly and spend time thinking of the meaning of things while you watch it.
Walking out of Warcraft, the overriding feeling is one of a missed opportunity - this is by no means a disaster and there is plenty of potential here. The scope of the film is impressive and it's clear there is a lot of world-building going on here for future sequels. Part of the problem, however, is there is simply too much plot going on with not enough time devoted to a central thread - the director's admission that some 40 minutes have been cut is not surprising. This is a film that has ambition to be an epic, with many threads introduced to carry over to potential future films and glimpses of many different settings in this new world, but consequently there is a rushed feel to the central plot of this film with not enough time devoted to developing the relationships and motivations of the central characters, Thus plot developments and twists whilst potentially interesting do not have the emotional impact desired making it difficult to really care about what happens. It is a shame because what there is here works surprisingly well - Jones' ambition is to ensure the audience is invested in both sides of the conflict rather than the obvious human side. Perhaps there may well be a future director's cut that restores some much needed character work and slows down the pace a little.
This is going to be as spoiler free as possible. This was written following Ep 3 - And the Horns of a Dilemma. And this will hopefully help you make up your minds about whether to watch the show or not.
Now, the general plot is this; There is a building called the Library which houses magical items which the Librarian - Flynn Carsen - retrieves and protects. After Flynn and Eve have a chance encounter in Berlin, the Library - which sends out magical invites to potential employees - invites her to work for it as a Guardian. Flynn's guardian, to be more precise. Together the two of them discover that someone is killing off all the potential replacement Librarians, and they find and rescue the only three that are still alive; Ezekiel Jones, Jake Stone, and Cassandra Cillian.
So, what can you expect from this show?
*Firstly, a reminder that it's a TV show, so every episode has a set budget - this means that the special effects aren't always fantastic. Just try to look past that.
*Sometimes the acting is a little clunky, and the writing is too. Writing-wise they need to find their groove, sometimes they use humor and it falls flat, sometimes they use humor and it's actually kinda funny. They just need to find what works. Acting-wise - some of these guys are somewhat new to the game, give them some time they'll get better. Everyone has to start somewhere, right?
*Action, fighting, mystery, and adventure. Saving the world every week. Or at least, every week the show is on. Almost like a short Indiana Jones, Lara Croft, and Nate Drake team up every week... except without Indy, Lara, or Nate actually being present.
*Sweet character interaction - developing future 'found family' dynamic - characters who care about each other, fight for each other, and would never bail on each other. Or at least, that's what I'm hoping for - it's looking that way.
*Possible romance subplots, and you'll probably get a few new ships out of it if you're into that sort of thing!
*The bad guy is played by Dr. Leekie from Orphan Black - Matt Frewer!
*Random appearances from Flynn Carsen - other than being in the first two episodes, I've heard he's in an episode later in the season.
I suggest you try watching it. If you don't like the first episode, and I know this is hard - give it a few more episodes, sometimes shows take a little while to get into the groove of things. Maybe it'll improve in your eyes during those few episodes, maybe not, but it's worth checking, that way you don't miss a show you will later love. Maybe check out the Librarian movies if you aren't sure, or if you like the show and want to get some back story on Flynn. (There are three movies.)
This show is far from perfect, but it has potential. Hopefully over the season it will continue to improve.
Absolutely brilliant! I wasn't expecting nothing like this! Mary and Max is one of the best, and now, one my favorite animated films. Really, it's hard to even say how great this film is!
Just because it is an animated film, don't expect it to be a film for children because it's definitely not. It tells the story about Mary a 8 year old girl who lives in Australia and her pen pal Max a 40 year old man who lives in New York. Both are sad and lonely people. By writing to one another they follow each other advices to try to survive to the cruel world that is constantly laying their confidence down.
This movie can be very depressing at times, showing us how painful life can be to the ones that are not accepted by society just because they have something different from most of the people. It also has very funny parts that balance the heaviness that the story might have.
The animation is very well done, the colors used, the set design, the soundtrack, everything combined and even the littlest detail were absolutely perfect. What also helped to create this unique and beautiful friendship tale were the voices of Philip Seymour Hoffman, Toni Collette and the wonderful narration of Barry Humphries.
Mary and Max is an absolutely beautiful and honest story that will break your heart but will also put a smile on your face. I loved it.
