I have nothing but good things to say about ROSALINE. I've long been familiar with the source material (a little-known play called Romeo & Juliet) and when I saw an ad for a spin-off comedy, I was instantly intrigued.
Kaitlyn Dever brought wit and humor to her role that can't be recreated and is the beating heart of the film. Kyle Allen brought the dopey Romeo to life so well that I choose to forget that he's a major asshole. Sean Teale brought the mystery and romance in a way that it didn't overwhelm the scenes and overshadow the other roles.
The direction of the film is what ultimately brought me in, and what made me stay. It took a script that was only slightly amusing (enough for a 30-minute short, not a feature) and made it funny, heart-warming, and frankly brilliant.
The scenic design was outstanding. Every location was detailed, down to the latches on the doors.
Whats not to love, catchup with the crew of the Firefly class ship 'Serenity' 3 years after the the now much loved TV show ended. Follow this rag-tag, loveable crew on a new adventure set directly after the events of Episode 14 'Objects in Space'. The script itself is based on ideas that were orginally planned for Season 2 (which of course never happened) instead the film now sets to answer all the unanswered questions, fans had from the first season and what can I say, Joss Whedon has done another magnifcent job and Serenity makes you realise how much you loved Firefly. Watch, enjoy and fall in love with the characters and Serenity herself.
When you watch a movie and wish that it went for another 2 hours - fantastic.
It was a pleasure meeting you, even if you are my least favorite vegetable! Take care, Turniphead!
bitch saved everyone with the power of love i'm crying
overrated. the worst harry potter movie, poor screenplay, poor visual. the book is much way better.
8.2/10. Almost every story about robots ends up being about humanity and personhood. The most unadventurous among them only confront the luddite question of whether an android could ever be sentient, could ever be a person, even though they’re made from circuits and gears rather than flesh and blood. (It’s a question that many great works, most notably Star Trek: The Next Generation have convincingly answered in the affirmative.)
But the best works don’t just interrogate the question of whether a robot can be a human, but rather use the idea of the mechanical man to try to answer the question of what makes us human. Films like A.I.--and make no mistake, it’s a quality film—ask deeper questions about what defines humanity, what qualities, practices, traits do we possess as a species that makes us unique, and uses an outsider and imitator to do so, in the same way that learning a foreign language can help us to better understand our native tongue.
Thus A.I. tells us the story of a young “mecha” child who wants to be a real boy. The film wears its Pinocchio influences on its sleeve, and to that end, offers an updated, sci-fi-infused version of that story. In it, David, an android child, wonders what it takes for him to become real, for him to become human.
The answer offered is an intriguing one – love. What distinguishes David from his mecha counterparts is the fact that he can “imprint” on his mother, that he can have an innate attachment to her beyond his own control. But it’s not the trite Hallmark Holiday version of love. The film presents something far more melancholy, far more heartrending, in its conception of “love” as an essential ingredient in humanity.
In essence, the film posits that what makes us human, our distinguishing feature, is our ability to love something so much that we yearn for the unobtainable, that we reach for simulacra and last gasps of things we can no longer have. The kind of love that makes us human is the one that makes our attachments run so deep that they survive the people we were attached to, that they drive us to try to recapture things we know are lost and can never be recovered.
That is the crux of this film. It repeatedly shows us individuals who reveal their humanity through attempts to revive their loved ones, to find something to fill the holes in their hearts left when they lost those closest to them. Monica, David’s would-be mother, accepted David as a fill-in for her own son who is in suspended animation after some disease or accident that ripped him from her. She is reluctant at first, but soon finds that David is a means to ease her pain, to make this inevitably misguided attempt to bring her child back in a fashion.
That motif is repeated when David finally makes it to his creator’s workshop, and discovers that he himself was made in the likeness of Professor Hobby’s dead son. He too is living monument to the attempt to hold onto something lost, because the love imbued in that person is too much for to allow his maker to let go.
Of course, A.I. is also interested in the morality of creating something that can love, that must love, and which we may not love back. The film’s opening act--which centers on the process of the Swinton family learning to love David, having their flesh and blood son come back to life, and then slowly but surely coming to the decision that David, for manipulated but understandable reasons of safety, no longer has a place in their family—is the tightest of the film. It tells a heartbreaking story of a young man becoming a fixture, becoming a part of a home of love, and then being put out when he no longer makes sense there. In particular, the scene where Monica abandons him in the woods, and he offers impassioned pleas and promises that he’ll be better, than he’ll be realer, to no avail, is utterly devastating.
But it incites the middle act of David’s Pinocchio-like adventures, which prove to be the weakest part of the film. There’s thematic meat in the “Flesh Fare” portions of the film, which communicate the fears of a human population concerned that they’re being replaced by technology in a way that feels terribly prescient now. It also explores the way in which children are uniquely situated to earn our sympathies, that they speak to an innate sense of protection and preservation that manage to cut through even the chauvinistic prejudices of a bloodthirsty crowd desperate for mecha torture.
For the most part, however, these scenes feel like simple ways to fill in struggles between David being kicked out of his home, and him becoming a real boy. His adventures with Gigolo Joe and Teddy (who work as his companions in the vein of Jiminy Cricket) make gestures toward the larger themes of the film, and offer some red meat to science fiction fans both in terms of world building and gorgeous, otherworldly set pieces and sequences that still look superb despite being a decade and a half old, but mostly feel like less compelling detours to the larger story being told. Flesh Fare, Rouge City, and the sunken bones of Old New York are entertaining enough as standalone pieces, but don’t have the thematic coherence of the rest of the film.
That coherence comes in the film’s much maligned end game. While a 2,000 year wait and the presence of aliens may have been off-putting at first, they work as the true equivalents to the blue fairy that David is so desperate to find – the effectively supernatural force that can intervene and grant David’s wish.
And they do. What David wishes for more than anything in the world is to return to his mother, so the aliens revive her for one more day. It is in that final montage, where David gets to celebrate his birthday, to tell his mother his life’s story, to share in the joys and the pains of love and loss, that he truly becomes a real boy. What makes him so is the way that he shares in the efforts of Monica Swinton, and of Professor Hobby – his desire to recapture something lost, because he loves someone, and he can’t turn that off just because they’re gone.
His revival of Monica, his desperation to enjoy one last day with her, one last simulacra of where his love led him, shows that David has a soul, however you’d like to define that term. As the similarly precocious Lisa Simpsons once put it (via writer Greg Daniels) some philosophers believe that a soul is not something we are born with, but rather something we earn, through suffering, struggle, and acts that reveal our humanity. David has done all that and more, coming close to death, traveling great distances, showing his devotion and futile hope for millennia, in the hopes of being able to return to his mother.
So when he does, when he gets to spend that one last glorious day with her, it’s not just the culmination of the story, it’s his reward for his steadfastness, and the confirmation that he is a human being, in every meaningful sense of the term. It is moving when he hears the words he so desperately wanted to hear ‘lo those many years – that his mother loves him, that she’s always loved him. It is then that he not only becomes “real” but becomes whole, the gaping hole inside of him is filled. In the end, David wants without reason, he wants beyond reason, and like the little wooden boy who inspires him and those telling his story, eventually, his wish is granted, and he knows the profound pain and immense joy that comes with being a human being. The boy who was treated as much like a child as a person, turns out to be the last bastion of humanity, the legacy of our sins and our aspirations, at the end of the world.
Profound! I enjoyed this movie when it was released and enjoyed it again tonight. Interesting if slightly 'creepy' topic of substitute robotic children. Probably more sinister to be honest is the fact that humans cease to exist by the ending. The cast are great and 14 years on now from it's release the CGI stands the test of time; my DVD's print quality does not :(
[1.0/10] It’s not surprising to me that something like this exists. I’m sure there’s scores of student projects and amateur attempts that match this special in terms of quality. What’s baffling is that these 42 minutes aired on a major network, featured the vocal talents of two Disney princesses and some of the best voice actors in the world, and had a closing song sung by the guy who did pop versions of the Beauty and the Beast theme. It’s not surprising that something this bad exists. It’s surprising that something with the stamp of approval from The WB and so many skilled people involved is this abjectly terrible.
I don’t even know how to critique this, because to critique is to note things that are working and areas where things could be improved. But nothing about Believe in Santa works, and I have no idea how you could improve it. It is just terrible to the core, and the only way to improve it would be to flush it out of the airlock.
The graphics are terrible looking, but considering it was made in 3D Choreographer, that’s no shock. There’s zero charm or humanity in these awkward, blocky characters, and I feel for the animators who were basically handed a dollar store paint set and told to produce the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Maybe that even accounts for some of the awkward editing choices, with overlong walk cycles and strange poses for everyone.
But it doesn’t account for the barely-there story, the awkwardly-staged scenes, the horrible songs, and the awful line-reads. If you squint, there’s a vague tale of Ricky liking a girl and changing her heart through his earnestness, and of Lenee deciding it’s right to believe in Santa Claus. But there’s zero progression or logic to these stories, events just kind of pile up on one another on top of some truly terrible songs. (The one exception is the closing “From the Eyes of a Child” tune that plays over the end credits, which isn’t good, but at least sounds professional.)
The plotting is nonexistent. The dialogue sounds like no one involved in the production had spoken to an actual human being before. The character interactions make no sense. The efforts at rapping are cringe-worthy. And the thing is just an eyesore to look at. Nothing about this works. It looks like it was made as an end-of-semester project by a crop of middle schoolers who’d never made T.V. before, and yet it features the voices of Bart Simpson and Luke Skywalker and The Little Mermaid.
That is baffling. There’s a level of misfire here that you rarely see get past the quality control department of major networks. However desperate for content the WB may have been in 2002, it would have done better to show static for an hour than to associate itself with such a poorly-made, ramshackle special.
This is such a good movie. Strange how a Hollywood feature was mostly in German but nonetheless a great film. Taking place during times of war the plan is to kill top ranking Nazis during a film premiere specifically for Nazis courtesy of the theatre owner whom years earlier escaped Nazi prosecution. In a nutshell.... but Tarentino films can never be described easily as they are wonderfully complex with nuances that need to be examined by the viewer. Do yourself a favour and watch it. Great performances that need to be seen.
That opening scene was brilliant, as Waltz's whole performance.
The sad part is that the scene actually set the wrong mood for me. I'm convinced that I took this movie way more seriously than it's supposed to be. Pitt's ridiculous accent and some odd scenes would be hilarious otherwise, I'm sure.
I hadn’t seen this since it came out and as with most of Tarantino’s work one remembers the key scenes but forgets just how well he writes. I can’t think of anyone who can keep you riveted through 20-minute long scenes of just dialogue, yet this film flies through its 150 minute runtime as if it were half as long.
The film flits between English, French, German and Italian yet Tarantino has his own visual language we can all understand. The devil is in the detail - whether it’s Hans Landa filling his fountain pen or eating strudel with Shoshanna, there’s always something more for characters to do rather than just talk.
Second time around, Inglourious Basterds has firmed itself up as a personal favourite if only for the bar scene and the final 30 minutes.
benoliver999.com/film/2017/07/23/inglouriousbasterds/
That's a Bingo!
Christoph Waltz is so good. Him just talking and being menanicing is perfect. Everything about this movie is great, especially killing Nazis.
A good movie about a topic that's been made movies off a lot lately, what with dysfunctional families/millenials, drugs and America, and all that. American Honey did it quite well, too.
The camera-work in the beginning almost nauseated me, but it was interesting camerawork nonetheless. I liked how the director used lights and colours in this. Very dramatic and neo-noiresque, I appreciated that.
I also enjoyed the different angles and takes. I had not expected the main focus and main character to shift – a pleasant surprise.
A lot of tragedy packed into one film, and many moments I was moved to tears.
So sad how hard it seems for people to just love another (and stop capslocking about important issues).
When we realise how all things have causes and effects and everything influences each other, it gets tougher to assign blame too.
But holy damn was I bothered by how they ruled a homicide by accident as "second degree murder" and "lifelong prison". What the actual fuck, that justice system is seriously fucked. Also wondering what it would have been ruled if he'd been a white guy. Yikes.
Waves is sometimes disorienting, but it was a massive punch to the guts. The trailer had gotten me hooked since it came out but I only just got around to watching it.
Boy am I glad I did watch it though!
Love the cast. Here for the music. Definitely will look forward to what the director has coming next.
uh.. first of all let's stop comparing this to greys
the movie itself was decent, i believe the plot could've had so much more potential BUT, THAT END SCENE? really? she died for literally no reason. they could have prevented it.
I dare to say... it was better than Grey. For a such ridiculous story it was far more realistic which made it so much more enjoyable (and I enjoyed Grey).
Gorgeous. A well received return to Disney's traditional roots. Beautiful animation, memorable characters, catchy songs and music.
The voice work is pitch perfect. The leads are great but it's the side characters that bring that Disney magic. I always love Keith Davids distinctive voice and here he brings such delightful menace to Dr Facilier. Michael-Lee Wooley's Louis the Aligator is so spirited and Jim Cummings Ray the Firefly is heart warming. Jenifer Lewis brings Mama Odie to life and she is gold!
The Princess and the Frog is funny and it's sad. It's charged and it's touching. It's New Orleans.
Random side note: I took my son to see the exhibition Dreams Come True: The Art of Disney's Classic Fairy Tales in Melbourne, Australia in April 2011 which ended with PatF (and Tangled, also another joy to watch) and they had the character maquettes. It was quite a spin to walk among these great characters with a third dimension and see the fine attention to detail.
Totally Ninja!
This movie was ... special, I wouldn't call it a masterpiece or a perfect film but this movie is like no other romance movie. Instead of only showing the best parts to make you feel warm feelings, it shows you everything and all in one night. And what is truly special about this movie is that it is realistic, I mean you can imagine that a story like this could indeed be possible, it's about seizing the opportunities as they come instead of just watching life happen and not doing anything. I, myself, feel that there are many moments within my life's history, that if I had acted differently, my life would not be the same, I have so many "What if" moments. And, I watch these kinds of movies, not only to feel good or sad for a short amount of time but also to show me examples of situations where there actually is an opportunity to seize. Not many guys watch as much romance movies as I watch. I do it because it guides me in life. This movie was also special because of the different ideas that the two main characters share, instead of introducing some crazy story to the plot, all they did was, make the characters talk and talk and share ideas about love, about relationships, about death, about everything. If I could write decimals in my ratings, I would give this movie a 7.5/10. Not a 10 because of how little it made me feel but I still liked it nonetheless and it was indeed special in itself.
I love this movie so much. A completely bad ass lead slashes her way through some bad guys and a few great twists. I don't understand why people have a problem with the ending. The ending is amazing!! Seriously, I don't know why Sharni Vinson isn't in a million horror films by now. Also....of course, I can't not mention the original horror icon, and my personal favorite, the one and only Barbara Crampton. I LOVE THIS MOVIE!
Bad ending but the rest was great. It started off relatively serious but then turned into bizarre madness very quickly.
HAROLD, THEY'RE LESBIANS!
I see that some people say the ending is actually happy and that everything seemed to work out at the end! But i find that's not true!
We can clearly see at the ending that Ki-woo is still poor and dreaming of making his message to his father comes true
but did it actually happene or not? we don't know for sure!
And i guess it didn't happen and that was because the reference back then when they lost their house, when the father told Kim Ki-woo that plans don't always success and that dreams never come true, so it actually does make sense.
The only thing i don't like that how did actually Kim Ki-woo survive?:D
I mean he has been hit twice by a huge rock in his head!!
And the funny thing that the woman who hit her head by falling over the stairs is the one who died :D!
It's fun. It's well paced. I had a blast.
All the negative reviews I see on RT complain about the lack of depth, which ok, it's not a super deep film, but it doesn't have to be nor is there really the time without substantially lengthening the film or taking away from the action. Personally I think they're probably just a little butt hurt at the jabs it takes at the left or not enough at the right. This is a fun, violent comedy that just roasts everyone. There is some depth in that it points out flaws in everyone, but it's mostly just a non-objective romp.
Indeed, the downfall of the antagonists was the same cause of their entire motivation for the Hunt, targeting individuals based on inaccurate information and justifying their actions by a sense of moral superiority.
Mockingjay Part 2's biggest mistake is being completely faithful to the book, considering that it is the worst one of the trilogy. They had the chance to make the story better but chose to stick to what they had. Being the final chapter of the story, it has emotional bits, but miserably (and unfortunately) fails to sell them, rushing the scenes which we were supposed to remember the most. However, its political and action turmoils are its best parts and were beautifully developed. After all, piecing the four movies together, it remains a good story.
This small, incomplete review holds no real spoilers.
Jennifer Lawrence turned up the acting switch a notch. Might be her best performance till date overshadowing 'winter's bone' while showing her great talent and potential of her becoming a movie superstar (if she isn't already bc of her internet popularity and looks.)
This part was more balanced as the last movie, and sets the emotional trigger on sharp for the finale next year.
Again a compliment to Elizabeth Banks who captures the role of Effie amazingly well. Even though she originally wasn't supposed to be on screen until the finale, the creators and writer Suzanne Collins decided to let her replace Plutarch's assistent so she could be in this movie, which was a wise decision imho to use a familiar face in stead of a unknown side character.
I was a bit disappointed about the lack of influence of Natalie Dormer, but we might have to wait for the last movie for that to happen.
Sidenote: It is harder to find a movie without Julianne Moore nowadays, than one with her lol.
There is a lot of conversation, the biggest part due to this being the politics part in the story. This is a big part of stories base after all, and is important in its message.
I really was surprised they used the 'Hanging tree' song in the movie, I kinda suspected they would skip it, and it was a great surprise and a good decision the didn't. It has a lot of importance for Katniss, since it depicts the struggle of the districts against the capitol, and her relationship with her family (mainly her dad) and later with Peeta.
Lawrence is definitely not a singer though, she doesn't have the voice for it hehe. Good thing they have computers nowadays.
Depending on how part 2 will turn out, I think they made a good choice in splitting the movie in two, even though it is probably done just for the cash and not for storytelling.
Ok enough when considering that most movies based on popular books tend to be a let down. The script dose not come close to the book, but that is to be expected. The casting was ok enough, and the actors did the job as expected. All in all...good enough entertainment for an evening in front of the TV.
Lots of laughs in this one. My favorite bit was his routine about how when a relationship is going well, you have the other person meet your parents. It's not the most daring observation ever, but his delivery was top notch. There's a lot of Mulaney doing awkward variations of a black person's voice in this one, but if you can get past that, the material is top notch.
I find it hard for me to pinpoint the genre of this movie, and that's great. The town (Bacurau) is the best actor/actress presented here, which means all the good acting gave personality to this wonderful place. You'll see a lot of social and political criticism here and it's perfectly done.
Unfortunately, nothing more can be said about this flick without giving away some spoilers, but rest assured, it is one of the best movies Brazil has made in a long time.
10/10
