Let me start this off by saying that this sequel did not feel outside of what we remember.
Blade Runner 2049 maintains the mood and feel of its predecessor. The visuals, the sound... the dystopian future, it's all there.
| FIRST THOUGHT |
I love writing reviews, it comes somewhat naturally to me after watching something that I learn to feel passionate about.
This movie taught me to be passionate.
But... it's really hard for me to express judgment. And I'm going to explain why:
Actually, it's very simple. This was a 3 hours movie. Of these 3 hours, 2 were simply... air. Now, don't get me wrong, that isn't always negative, like in this case. It was refreshing air, but still... it doesn't (at first glance) hold anything on the plot.
Because of this, the viewer (me at least), is left with a lot of questions, the picture doesn't explain itself. Also; as a side note - you most definitely need to watch the first one. The great majority of the runtime is inexplicably useless.
The longer it goes, the longer it begins to add new stuff, and then some, then it seems somehow related to what's actually going on, but right after it deviates the actual story on an ideal from the characters involved, that at a certain point, evaporates. I'm really conflicted about this because it looks to me like the screenwriters and director wanted to leave all of this to theory and the fans.
Why is this confusing? Because it's a very strange mixture of linear narrative and non-linear narrative. One is focussed on one objective, the other starts a bunch of other objectives and then it simply dies. No explanation was given, no closure was given.
And this is aggravated by the fact that it's a 3 hours movie, of which 1 hour of the actual story is spread and mixed amongst 2 hours of absolutely nothing. VISUALLY IMPRESSIVE NOTHING. A VERY INTERESTING BUNCH OF LITERAL VOID.
This is actually the only thing I did not like about the movie. Which, again, if you are like me and enjoy movies that aren't patently explaining themselves, it's not a bad thing. I just feel like it could've been much more interesting if they explained somehow what happened to all the side characters, or just cut them out.
|STORY & ACTORS |
Aside from what I've mentioned before, the more "linear" part of the story is actually not that bad. It's nothing impressive. A part of what I said earlier connects to the fact that this movie constantly keeps juggling between what is real and what is not. Be it by robots, or actual reality that the characters are living. So it came out pretty obvious that the movie would have a twist at some point, somewhere. I will admit that I did not get it until the very end, so, don't be discouraged.
Ryan Gosling was great, also because he as an actor was perfect for his role. Being so that he has this way of being and looking conflicted, and so it portrayed really well on the protagonist.
Harrison Ford had less value to this movie than he did in the last Star Wars.
Jared Leto's character is a mystery to me, but he did a phenomenal job talking random shit.
All of the other actors, Jared Leto included, were there to push the story forward (or to add random bullshit) and that's it. They did a fantastic job, but unfortunately, as mentioned above, at first glance it looks like they don't mean shit.
| CINEMATOGRAPHY |
The movie is visually pleasing, it's bliss for people with OCD. It's perfectly round and at the same time perfectly square. It keeps smooth lines combining great color combinations in the palette, and utilizing great solid colors at the same time.
As I said before it holds perfectly a spot near its predecessor, the mood and feel are almost identical. (Having watched the first one only an hour before going to the theater to watch this one)
I have to say, this one looks A LOT, like A FUCKING GIGAZILLION LOT more gruesome and splatter than the first one. The fighting scenes are brutal, they do not go into dramatic effects, they just are what they should be. A punch in the face, exploding heads and blood.
There is no doubt that this movie looks fucking amazing.
It sounds amazing as well. It has a collection of deep, pure sounds. There is not a lot of music, but when there is it's powerful and present and it makes you wake up and amaze. Same goes for the special audio effects: I have watched it in ATMOS and I have to admit, they did not utilize it at all, except for one scene later in the movie, but the way it goes from absolute silence to seat trembling sensations it's really amazing. The sounds were so powerful I could literally see the movie screen shake and the subwoofer hit made the whole room shake.
I would also like to add that in the Italian version, you can clearly see that they used "incorrect" words grammatically, they used a lot of anglicisms, I guess they've done that to express how language is evolving? It's actually current of our generation, I see a lot of people adapting English words in Italian, so I was very impressed by that.
| FINAL THOUGHT |
I feel like everyone needs to understand, before watching this movie, that you need a time, a mood and a place perfectly fit to sit for a 3 hours movie that it's going to feel like a 6-hour long journey into colors, shapes, and absolute "living" silence.
This is NOT a Marvel movie, there is action, well-done action, but it's not about action. You need to sit, relax and don't think about time, because, trust me, it's going to fuck you.
Please like my comment if you enjoyed my review, it makes me really happy.
Note that all of this is driven by my personal opinion. If you think I wasn't objective in some of the parts of what I've written, you're welcome to make me notice where.
On Twitter, I review the entire world -> @WiseMMO
"Silence is the loudest cry for love". - SilentDawn
This was tough. Seriously, this was the hardest thing I've ever digest in terms of progressing my thoughts. It's so mesmerizing with so many things going on at once that it takes awhile to sink in. Gets you thinking on a subject that you wasn't originally interested in. A movie that leaves you completely paralyze of reacting or forming a sentence to describe what you just witness. But after four days of letting it sink in, it has been settled.
What I love about "Silence" is that it doesn't judge-the potential arrogance & imperialism of missionary work. It doesn't make you pick aside to root for, but understand where both sides are coming from. It's up to you - the audience, to decide if their actions are right or wrong.
"Silence" is easily one of best movies of 2016. A film in which you get so involved of whats going on that it stays with you long after it's over. It's one of Scorsese's finest achievement of his career.
For almost 30 years, Scorsese has been trying to get Shusaku Endo novel "Silence" made. You see, Scorsese grow up Catholic and had desire to become a priest at a young age. So the book deeply moved him in a personal way. But the reason why he couldn't get it made sooner is because he wasn't ready to take on anything like this. To him, this was something big and challenging. So all these years he tried to really think how a story like this could be cinematic.
Martin Scorsese is my favorite director and every movie he makes, I'm there. I haven't seen all of his movies yet, but those are for a special time. Now people have ask the question of who's the best living director working today - It's Scorsese all the way. While Steven Spielberg and Ridley Scott will always be legends, but Marty doesn't just make a movie to stay relevant or just do it for the sake of it. You can see the passion behind every film his done. "Silence" is no different. It's a deeply spiritual film and has multiple layers of meanings. Marty reminds us of that old cinema we love.
Andrew Garfield was absolutely fantastic in this movie. Garfield once again proves that he's a great actor. His performance was emotionally striking and he nailed the character down. It a real shame that he got nominated for "Hacksaw Ridge" and not this. I thought he was far better in "Silence". Because he starts off 100% dedicated to his own faith, but towards the end he's a complete wreck. The challenges he had to face was more compelling and soul crushing to watch.
Adam Driver and Liam Neeson were also great. Driver performance was natural and tremendous that you see the deep passion he's character had for faith. Neeson doesn't have a big role, but his presence on the story is immense and unique.
All the Japanese cast were all stellar. Especially Issei Ogata and Yôsuke Kubozuka. Those two were the stand outs for me. Ogata character can be best describe as Christoph Waltz from "Inglourious Basterds", as he's both comedic and menacing. Kubozuka broke my heart a couple of times, as the cowardly Christian who keeps letting others down many times. But when he begs for forgiveness, it's hard not to fall into that routine again.
The score for this movie is quite interesting. I say "interesting" because there's not much music, but sounds. Nature sounds you would here in the Forrest or a swamp. It's a score that creeps into my head and psychological effects you.
Rodrigo Prieto cinematography in this movie was just flawless. The look of Japan has this foggy, warmth, and damp look to it. Prieto captures the cruelty and the hidden beauty to it.
Unfortunately, this isn't going to be for everyone and I've already seen different sides. It ask questions more than answers. Quite honestly, I glad it dose. As it opens to discussions with others and gets you talking. You know, like a movie should.
And yes it may be frustrating for some, but I think that's the right reaction that a movie like this should have. A movie that puts you in the shoes of what the characters going through and their main struggles. If all that is perfectly captured on film, it's less than a negative, but more of an achievement. For a 2 hour and 41 minute movie, it never dragged for me.
Overall rating: "Silence" touches every rope of your mind and soul. This is one of those movies which may not be appreciated until many years later, for those who can grasp the true heart and meaning of this film, it's a transcendent experience. I was captivated from start to finish.
When I wrote my thoughts on Spotlight, I speculated about how knowing the end of the story going in, knowing the extent of the scandal the team in Spotlight was uncovering, may have robbed the plot of some of its punch. And yet, The Big Short is, in many ways, the perfect counter to that.
Almost everyone old enough to watch this film lived through The Great Recession. They know that the disaster all the main characters in the film are predicting comes true, in all its horrible, self-destructive glory. But rather than taking away from the film, it adds to it. There's this sense of foreboding, of doom that hangs over everything.
A film about the financial crisis, especially involving traders and analysts and people crunching numbers in a fund, could easily be too dry. And yet, the fact that the individuals the film focuses on are slowly but surely investigating an economic massacre waiting to happen, and how each step they take reveals another way that disaster might have been diverted, or people who are supposedly in the know digging the whole deeper, means that the entire film is just an exercise in creating that sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach. It's not a prestige picture; it's a horror film.
It's also a very weird film. It's not so bold in its presentation that it feels unprecedented, but it feels stitched together, disjointed, and unusual, but in a good way. Adam McKay, of Anchorman fame, is the right man for the job. There is a darkly funny absurdity to the topic The Big Short covers, and with his fourth-wall breaking asides, his cuts to celebrity explanations of complex financial consequences in ridiculous situations, and his jumping between various characters acting wild or nutty lends the perfect tone to the movie, one of simultaneous horror at what hell hath been wrought and unavoidable bemusement at the clowns who steered us all into this ditch.
The direction and rhythm of the film is frenetic. It's closest comparison point is Requiem For a Dream with the same frenetic hodgepodge of images and sounds, bleeding and blending into one another, disorienting the viewer and conveying the sense in which the financial world the film depicts is intoxicating, dizzying, and unsettled all at the same time.
Another aspect of the film that makes it hard to compare to other works in this space is the fact that it doesn't really have a protagonist or a plot. Sure, it has a story, and it has characters who take up the most oxygen over the course of the movie, but more than anything it feels like a documentary. It's far too stylized and irreverent to really deserve that label, but it's far more interested in trying to describe what happened, to explain just what mistakes and lies and blindspots led to the global economic crisis, than it is in rising action and resolution, or showing people growing or changing.
That's not to say there isn't an emotional element to the film. Steve Carell stands out by playing essentially a smarter, angrier Michael Scott who grabs your attention every time he's on screen. The parallels between his character's sense that a catastrophe is looming in economic terms that he could do something to prevent, and his guilt over not doing more to prevent his brother's suicide was--while perhaps a little easy--also affecting.
The rest of the cast do their jobs well, but blend together a bit because again, while they're a vital part of the film, the film isn't really about them. The characters in The Big Short are conduits to detail, in amusing and human terms, just what the hell went wrong. Christian Bale is a collection of actorly tics, but he acquits himself well enough. Ryan Gosling does his best dudebro douchebag type, and is sufficiently entertaining in that guise. And Brad Pitt seems pretty reserved, short of his moment where he chastises his young wards for being too happy about what they're making their money from.
But again, the fact that there's not really a narrative means that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The film is not really a story; it's an autopsy, cutting up the corpse of our financial system and exposing the bloody innards, the rotten organs at the core that led the USA, and the world, to the dire economic state it was in by late 2008. In that sense, the film succeeds wildly, and McKay manages to tackle something of real significance without losing the absurd madcap attitude he brings to his comedic works, and somehow, doing justice to the insanity of the lead up to The Great Recession in the process. It's a hell of an achievement to make a film this funny, this disturbing, and this great.
Knowing the bad ratings, bad reviews and that it topped the budget on most films in the cinema, I went into it with an open mind and came out of it with lots of disappointments, like watching the video and getting the 7 days to live curse so go with the ratings & reviews, you won't be missing anything good but I'll leave that to you to watch the video tape yourself. I got exited for a few years after hearing this film was in development being a fan of the Japanese classic and now I wish it was still in development, re-done, the right cast or some of the same cast, more effort into it, better effects, more action, a lest be creepy, didn't mash the story up or rush it and with the original story without the crap twist on the curse/story that just didn't feel like the Ring to me. I didn't think much of the other American version of 2 but lest they tried to live up to the Japanese versions that hands down were a horror but this was a waste of my time & money and needs to be thrown down the well because it's one ugly piece of work like the spirit herself.
The main character Liv Moore dies and comes back as a zombie. She changes her entire way of life and starts to work in a morgue where she can get all the brains she needs. Every time she eats a brain, she gets visions and abilities or properties from the deceased and with those she helps a detective solve cases where those original brain owners were involved in.
Pretty straightforward synopsis and if you can accept the "eat brain, get visions/abilities" premise of this show you're in for a great treat.
Most of all the writing is consistent. The plots aren't stupidity driven as they are on major network shows these days, nor are the plots dragged out with nonsense you don't care about.
The acting is believable, the actors play likable characters and those have depth. They aren't cardboard characters or dull stereotypes, they all have their backstory and purpose. While this is an adaption of a comic there are apparently issues to overcome.
For example filling the time that you have in a TV format with dialogues. I haven't read the comics and can't comment on how faithful the series is overall but it definitely delivers the concept very well without having to know the comic.
Comedy is rather subtle here but usually very sweet. The humour comes often from the brains Liv eats and are situational.
Matching that comedy you get here and there fitting popculture references, like a very dark humorous, self ironic and absolutely brilliant Fight Club reference.
Especially shows with zombies are more and more frowned up on these days. People are slowly fed up with stories involving zombies. But this one takes a different approach.
As of yet (S01E10) there is no humans vs zombies, no apocalypse, just a how does a zombie try to live a normal, daily live kind of situation. Spiced up with brain induced antics, murder cases and a plot involving the commercial exploitation of zombies, in a way at least. ;) Each episode involves therefore a new case, a case that usually in some way is linked to the overall plot and therefore a new piece to the puzzle of the show.
On the other hand, because there's no apocalypse here, this show is not an action driven show. Nor is it a show where you can completely shut off your brain but I'd say it would work as a calm down kind of show.
You had an exhausting/stressful day at work, school, university, etc. and need to calm down, get your minds off things in the evening? Watch iZombie. Due to the aforementioned, it is a rather lighthearted not too serious show but it definitely is very enjoyable.
Personally this show, after the sad and undeserved cancellation of Forever, is my most favourite airing show.
Since it is a lighthearted show that doesn't take itself very serious at times - in smart ways nontheless - it may not please everyone. The cast seems a tad too young but I wouldn't go as far as to say there are miscast persons on this show as there are on other, bigger shows. When you dislike the synopsis, or think it sounds cheesy, that may be your right to say or think, but I think you misjudge this TV show very much and miss out on an incredibly enjoyable show that doesn't insult your intelligence with plots that get more and more ludicrous with each episode. Something bigger networks try more and more these days with each new show.
Charming shows like these are sadly a dying kind.
