great movie for the family. I loved it when I was a kid.
A movie that never justifies its existence.
I have a lot of respect for what John Favreau did with The Jungle Book.
He managed to do something that every remake should aim for, but usually fails to do: improve upon its original.
This, however, is the exact same movie.
There was zero effort put into improving things, or even do anything different, for that matter.
And to some degree, I get it: the original is almost sacred to some people, and they’ll act autistically if you change too much.
There’s also an upside to that, which some critics don’t pick up on: if a story works in 1994, it still works in 2019.
But you could at the very least try some different shot compositions, or different music cues, or anything to not make this movie completely creatively hollow.
Yes, it looks just like a Discovery documentary.
At the same time, the realism strips the expressiveness of the animals away, so those things cancel each other out.
There’s just no reason to watch this over the original.
5.5/10
Awkward fan service with no soul.
Yes, there's a little too much focus on the human drama and too little Godzilla. That being said, Gareth Edwards exercises a great amount of restraint in showing the titular creature fight and, well, be seen in general. This is both a complaint and a good thing, believe it or not. It builds anticipation over the two hour runtime. I do think we could've seen some more of Godzilla in the first half, though. Maybe cut back on the Ford stuff to make room for more monster. But beyond that, this nails what I was hoping it would be. The audio design here is amazing. The story is a little disjointed between what's happening with Godzilla and our protagonist Ford (a lot of the time it feels like Ford's story is written just so he'll end up where Godzilla is) but it isn't bad. I thoroughly enjoyed this one. 4/5
Halloween day continues with a re-watch for the 31 Days Of Horror! Love this one.
Amazing film :heart_eyes: The end was so intense:fire::fire:
I'm on Oh-ficial Clown business bitch, so watch this great movie!
We'll meet again
Don't know where
Don't know when
But I know we'll meet again
Some sunny day
This movie broke into my house, hit me with its mundanity, and then left with a piece of my soul. Will bolster my defences next time and pick a better movie.
this is a happy film
a lot of action, killing, blood, naked chicks, sex, good acting!
Just how i like my horror movies.
Better than all the Halloween movies combined.
It's a consistent film with a good script, good performances, good direction, and of course so much blood.
Since the plot is remarkably the same, I’m just going to copy-paste my original plot analysis from the original film:
“Halloween is about Michael Myers, a man that many years ago, murdered his own sister as a child. Locked away for years, he finally escapes and wreaks havoc on a random set of teenage friends, but not before stalking them first.” – Review of Halloween (1978)
Oh sorry, that’s not exactly accurate – this time, his victims aren’t as random as the original movie. This time, you more or less discover as the film moves along what you discover in the 1981 sequel – that (spoiler alert), Laurie is Michael’s younger sister. So his murderous rage is all about killing his family – that much you know about in the original series, but it’s more than that now, because you now understand on a deeper level how truly horrible his childhood was before he became the monster. In the original film, Loomis briefly explains how he intimately knows the extent of Michael’s evil ways – in this film, we see it. We see his abusive and repulsive family, his budding interest in death beginning with animals, his fascination with masks and self-loathing, and his untamable hatred towards the mental hospital but surprising respect towards Dr. Loomis. We see all of this because it takes its sweet time introducing us to his history that we needed the first time around!
More than that, it introduces us to more than just an idea that this man is evil, but also a physical representation of one heck of an intimidating beast of a man. Seriously, this guy is huge. He’s a hulk. The original film had a typical guy in a mask. Why was he wearing a mask? Because it’s Halloween, I guess…this movie explains everything. It took away all of my complaints about the first movie and then some. The best way I could describe this film is as if they took the script for the original movie, got a better director, got a better writer to rewrite certain scenes and introduce integral elements, got better actors, invested in better equipment and technology, and hired a different director of photography – because it actually shows us what we needed to see that the first film left out. In my honest opinion, this movie improved on just about every level.
However, where it didn’t improve – was partially in casting. I do believe this is the best guy to ever play Michael. It made the most sense, but the rest of the cast was either just fine, or a bad choice. Now, I like Malcom McDowell as much as the next guy, I think he’s a wonderful actor, but Dr. Loomis wasn’t the right choice for him. Loomis needs to be Michael’s opposite, someone caring and understanding but ultimately hurt when he can’t get through to Michael’s inner child. Donald Pleasence did a pretty good job in the first film, but McDowell looks and sounds too evil to play this type of role. It almost went to John Hurt, which would have been perfectly fine. I would have also accepted someone like Liam Neeson in that type of role. Not McDowell. The rest of the cast did a fine job at acting, but not so much at creating something memorable…and the original did when it came to Jamie Lee Curtis.
In my honest opinion Halloween was better than the original – but only on a technical level. It didn’t change anything about the series that was already good to begin with. It just improved on the parts that the original lacked. If you watched the rest of the classic series, you’ll notice that they’re always struggling to explain plot holes in order to make another movie – this movie mostly got that out of the way from the beginning as to not run around aimlessly trying to find direction. As far as horror goes, it’s a solid slasher film. The series has never really been a favorite of mine, but I definitely respect the film went with this remake. Check it out!
One of the worst films I ever seen.
I read the manga about 10 years ago and I admired the difficult decitions Alita made during her journeys. I avoided to read the comics again before watching the movie, I almost forgot the story and maybe this helped me appreciate even more the movie. It's a fast ride, maybe too fast sometimes, but I think the creators found a nice balance between presenting the wolrd of Alita, developing characters and progressing the story. I don't know if it's too much for someone that haven't read the comics, but I think it's a great start, hoping to see some sequels.
I hope to see an extended version in home video that helps the characters and the story breath a little more: I could give the movie a 10.
"Baggage", can be a GOOD thing when yours makes it on time across the pond with you on your flight from London, especially if it's first out of the chute and onto the pick up carousel. But, it's NOT such a good thing if one carries quantities of the negative kind into a new relationship, be it an IRL relationship, or, in THIS case, the relationship between a viewer and a filmmaker.
It was to be expected then, when, Anime fans and enthusiasts expressed trepidation after the trailer for "Alita: Battle Angel" dropped. They can all still recall the cringe-fest that was M. Night Shyamalan's, "The Last Airbender", which IMO was DOA from the moment it was cast, and, don't get them started on "Dragonball Z", lest you want a wall of text recounting it's cornucopia of cinema sins.
Now, I'm not here to go down the rabbit hole that is often expressed in the current virtue signaling trend of "whitewashing" outrage. We're not talking about the bad old days practice of Black or Yellow face, where obviously Caucasian actors were darkened or "Orientaled" up to play faux versions of the real deal, nor of instances where it is done for comedic irony, as in Robert Downey Jr's, "Tropic of Thunder' performance, nor, the Waynan's Brothers in "White Chicks". However I DO find it interesting that no one seems outraged in those two instances, or, that the same folks who express shock and dismay at ScarJo's casting as the titular "Ghost in the Shell", ALSO express outrage at those who expressed outrage, at the idea of casting Idris Elba as James Bond. Seems like there's no pleasing some folks.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKvqhlhXq9s
But I digress....
My point is, that we, as consumers of visual media, often let ourselves be influenced by the BAGGAGE we carry with us, when watching a film or show. Our expectations, based on PRIOR experiences, can subtly, or even greatly influence our enjoyment of a given offering. I have to wonder how die hard Trekkies would react to STDISCO, if they had NEVER seen Star Trek ANYTHING before? I myself can recall dismissing Wild Wild West, the movie, as soon as I saw Will Smith was cast in the lead, because for me Robert Conrad would always be the personification of James West. Yet, I had the opposite reaction to seeing Denzel Washington cast in the lead of either the Equalizer, or The Magnificent Seven, perhaps because lack of familiarity had not left me ingrained as to who these characters were. (Both great movies IMO by the way) Or perhaps it is just the power of the Denzel. And, even with all the "outrage" over the casting of "Ghost in the Shell", I still enjoyed the movie overall, although it fell down in a few places. Again I was unfamiliar with the source material.
Unlike the disappointing experience with "The Last Airbender", which I went into being a FAN of the Nickelodeon series as well as "The Legend of Korra", I was completely without opinion concerning Alita: Battle Angel. What I DID know was, that it was produced by James Cameron, who doesn't put his name on stinkers, and was directed by Robert Rodriguez, whom I have liked since El Mariachi. BOTH know how to deliver epic, believable worlds and characters, so I put my faith in that, and went in unbiased, with no expectations either way.
And I am SO very GLAD I did!!!
I saw the movie in IMAX / 3D, and, while SOME movies / Directors throw obvious, rather lame 3D effects to boost a lame, insipid storyline, or, OVER use it to the point of distraction, here, they found the perfect balance, with the 3D adding an immersive depth to the already impressive "26% more IMAX picture". If you watch the trailers, you can pretty much figure out which scenes really WOW in this format.
To address the elephant in the room, yes, Alita's eyes DO remind one of a cross between a high tech sex doll (not that I would know) and Margaret Keane's "Big Eyes" waifs. (Cristoph Waltz was in that one too) Yet, here, you quickly become so immersed in the story that you no longer notice. The story begins with Waltz's Dr. Ido discovering Alita's discarded torso in a dump, while he is scavenging for parts to fix up the neighborhood cyborgs, which are plentiful, and not trying to assimilate anyone. Apparently in THIS world, if a body part breaks, gets diseased, or hijacked (yes I said hijacked) it can be replaced, much like a crumpled bumper in a fender bender. Dr. Ido just happens to have a teenager sized cyborg body handy which is explained later in the film, and, a little JB Weld here, and a couple of stitches there and Bobs your Uncle, .. instant Teenage Mutant Ninja Angel...., (sorry) Alita awakens, but has no memory, and, as many teenagers are, is all questions, curiosity, and hormones, all at once, especially when she meets the "polite, hard working", and, all around handy guy Hugo, who IS teenage, but NOT mutant.
A visit from Ido's Ex, Chiren, gives us some (slightly disturbing) back-story and we meet her boss, Vector, played by Mahershala Ali, once again being chauffeured around by Viggo Mortensen, (just kidding) but who IS apparently a big deal, with connections to the sky city of Zalem, which floats above them, and is "the place were the cool hang out, the SWASS like to play, and the rich flaunt clout!" This is where everyone wants to someday go, "by any means necessary", yet Dr. Ido and his ex were apparently exiled from there, no backstory given.
Thrown in are a nice mix of teenage discovery and bonding, combat sports, bounty hunters, robot dogs, robot bounty hunters, set piece fight scenes, featuring robot dogs and bounty hunters of the meat and robot varieties, vivisection, nanobots, betrayal, heartbreak, and general cinematographic carnage....., and just when it was getting REALLY good, the credits ran, and NO ONE MOVED, hoping for one more glimpse of this world, or a Marvel Comics style peek at what is to (hopefully) come.
When I got home, I immediately looked up Alita, both the Anime and the Manga, and found a 2 part 1990's era Anime, which the movie, with a few minor changes and liberties, seems to have followed almost shot for shot in places. So, Kudos for at least partially following the source material, even if changes were made to make a coherent, box office ready story.
Was it perfect for those with the baggage of their own expectations? That's up to them to decide. Did I find it to be an entertaining movie that allowed me to suspend disbelief and immerse myself in Alita's dystopian hive of scum and villainy, and root for her to be victorious in the end? Yes sir!! So, May we have another??? PLEEASE????
Immensely fun, would go see it again.
I've been a sonic fan since Sonic 1 and 2 on the Genesis, enjoying both the comics and some TV shows as well. This FELT like sonic to me. It captured his confident attitude and gave him a backstory that was really touching and a great character motivation. Fans of the Mobius universe will recognize more references to the franchise, but this film is great for casual fans or even newbies to the franchise too.
The most jarring element for me was Jim Carrey's Robotnik. He didn't feel like any iteration of Robotnik or Eggman that I know. He was a fun character all the same but aside from his final costume he felt maybe 5-15% Robotnik throughout the movie.
The jokes were well done and there were times the wpile theater was in stitches. Lots of dad jokes, but the kind that makes you actually laugh.
Over all this is definitely a 10 for me, one I want to buy when it comes out and I am sorely hoping we get a sequel.
What an experience! It was magnificent and really powerful. Brilliant lead actor.
I don't think I have ever seen Gotham city this bad in any other movie or video game. They portrayed it like the shit hole it is. They did a really good job.
100% Will watch again
Finally, DC movie creators have woken up: it's no longer about being fun (and campy) but about being REAL! This is the most realistic origin story you will ever see. It's like an eerie, sometimes off tune karaoke machine for the sign of the times today. His manifesto is his notebook and we get to discover his MO with him. It's a slow burn until the FIREWORKS make you want to look away. You will hate what is happening on screen but a deformed compassion will lock your stare.
DC and WB, you've just been given the greatest gift all tied up with a bow - if you can't figure out how to build on this, you shouldn't be in the film business.
Film nerd slang: Taxi Driver meets The King of Comedy.
Damn. Wow. Just powerful. This movie nails it on so many levels..
Joaquin was so damn good. The underlying themes, the undertones.. The sounds, the visuals.. The score. The colours.
DC please continue to allow your characters to be used in this way.
This movie is a masterpiece really gives an insight into the Jokers mind while remaining very emotional throughout this psychological thriller
Let’s just say Joaquin Phoenix has done a remarkable job as playing the Joker, where he really does make The Joker as disturbing as he is always meant to be. We first start off seeing Arthur Fleck (The Joker) working as a clown for this company that sends people dressed up as clowns to different places in the city to entertain customers. We learn from the start that Arthur has schizophrenia he was placed on a psychiatric mental hospital temporarily in the past, where now he is out trying to fit into society on seven different medications while seeing a councillor in the meantime to try and get better to feel something positive in his life. You feel sorry for his character through his descent into madness as you learn all the hardships that he has been through, like been beaten as a child to still being taken the mick out of and beaten while being disregarded as an adult, which makes me think he wants society, but society does not want him to exist with his horrible condition. You will find yourself on an emotional journey in this film really does bring The Joker into a humane light while also being Psychotic with the reasons behind that. He also reverts to like a mind palace when he is unsure or someone is being horrible to him, which it can be either thinking that he is somewhere or with a particular person when his not or his uncontrollable laughter that calms him down as it is kind on his go to defence mechanism with his schizophrenia to try to make himself feel calmer. When we see him dancing down the stairs it gives him a humane happy side showing that he is still a human not just a mad killing monster that we always have perceived him to be, therefore he really does need help when people just ignore him and cast him off as kind of a waste of space in society. Arthur does not know how to react to everyday situations is a struggle for him, so killing someone in defence to him if they have really wronged or mocked him is fair game, even though we feel anger inside in our everyday lives that can be relatable we know how to make sense of our feelings knowing right from wrong with certain levels, which Arthur with his condition he cannot really comprehend. Even though these rich guys are horrible people and are very mean to him, which we can see Arthur has a point to the fact that if someone like them been killed people would be out for blood, compared to if someone like him had been killed they would just be passed by and ignored like street rubbish, therefore something needs to be changed. Arthur as The Joker he is trying to invoke a movement against people who think less of him and are mean to him even though the way he is going about it is the completely wrong way to go about it. We see people are being killed on the streets as a result of his killings to force change, where a peaceful campaign could have been more a lot effective in the long run instead of just madness and chaos. Overall, I would give this film a ten out of ten I defiantly recommend you watching it really does play with your mind it is a psychological thriller that can be scary to have you on the edge of your seat, therefore well done to the phenomenal acting along with the cinematography that really sets the scene for the film. Just to bear in mind that this is a stand alone film based on DC Characters, so some of the plot of how it fits in does not make sense, however that is how it is meant to be portrayed to give the shocking reality that raises awareness about these issues as they are real life people with these mental problems that they should be helped not ignored by so many people.
This movie is outstanding. Keep in mind when you go to see this that this is not a typical comic book movie that is just a ton of pow pow action, haha chaeesy joke, pow pow. It's basically a movie about a man going crazy but set in Gotham and that man ends up becoming the Joker. It is far more similar to Taxi Driver than it is to even the grittier Marvel movies. The only comic book movie I have seen which has even a remotely similar tone is Watchmen and even that is not as similar to it is to Taxi Driver or Apocalypse Now.
So as a short recap it starts with Arthur, an insane and severely depressed man. He has a condition that causes him to laugh uncontrollably when he is uncomfortable. Literally everything in his life is shit, he gets his ass kicked at work by punk kids, he gets shaken down by his employer, his mom is completely reliant on his help and they live together in a cramped and squalid apartment and his therapy is barely keeping him hinged. In the background Gotham is experiencing lots of political turmoil around the government and wealthy residents showing a complete disregard for the well-being of the needy and Arthur is hit hardest by this. His psychiatric services are cut, he loses his job, his mom is expecting a wealthy benefactor to save them which Arthur knows is not coming, the TV show that Arthur loves and the host of it who he admires coldly shames him for something he was proud of. The shit continues to pile on him as he becomes more deranged and eventually he starts to crack and becomes more and more violent along with much of the rest of Gotham who identify with his same experiences.
The themes of this movie are easy to understand but they run extremely deep as well working on many levels. The top crust of society looking down on others, passing judgement, acting without any repercussions or any true understanding for the devastation they are causing for others. The prime symbol of this is Murray Franklin, this rich talk show host who Arthur initially admires and fantasizes about interacting with in the future but when it comes down to the reality he just stomps over his dreams and aspiration and treats him as a prop to use for his own joke. It's funny to the people looking down with Murray but it's devastating to Arthur. Joker coming onto the show at the end and turning the tables with his "Joke" is also symbolic of the other side of the message. Joker and the clown protests are not good guys, they are not right, they are not helping, they are rabid and reactionary and fueled simply by fury without logic. They have solid reasons for why they are mad but when it gets to the point where you are that beaten down it is hard to see if there is any way to improve it and so reckless fury is all they can muster.
The detailed execution in this film is OUTSTANDING and is really what takes this film to the next level. The acting of Joaquin Phoenix in obviously one of the greatest performances in recent memory. The way he talks, the innocence of his dreams juxtaposed with his tainted reality, the brutality, the way he contorts his body to make the viewer cringe and painfully stare without being able to blink or look away, the facial expressions, the crazy way he runs, the dancing, all of it. It's something you have to experience and feel as you watch it. The script itself is impeccable, the faux twists, the delusional fantasy that is impossible to pick apart from the reality, the dialogue (my god the dialogue during the Murray Franklin show bit was beyond perfect), the art style that puts you in the gutter with Arthur, the careful pacing to make sure that you saw and understood every bit of why Joker comes into being, the music and general sound editing, etc. etc. etc. it's nearly flawless.
Another part that needs further appreciation is the use of ultra-dark humor and the affect it has on being in the audience. This movie
is one of the more brutal movies I have seen in recent times and as it goes on there are these subtle jokes woven into these shocking and disturbing scenes. They are jokes that most people won't laugh at (like locking the door so a dwarf trapped in the apartment with Joker has to ask to get out after seeing a friend's head bashed against the wall, or this situational humor on the talk show with the inappropriateness of the drunk driving joke in the middle of Joker's final rant) but they are really funny if you have a certain sense of humor. The amazing thing this does is that it gets the sick bastards like me who find it funny to laugh uncontrollably in the audience. This has two opposite purposes; the people who laugh are now experiencing the uncontrollable laughter and cold stares that Arthur experiences every day. On the other hand the people who don't laugh get these creepy out of place laughs coming from the people around them in the theater and they know that they're surrounded by sick bastards. It is THE most creative use of humor I have ever seen in a movie.
If we are talking about down sides I can't really speak to that much. The only things that I think might give it a lesser score are the fact that it is not a movie for everyone. It isn't a comic book movie at heart so if you're wanting a Avengers-esque experience then you're SOL. It's extremely brutal and will make you uncomfortable multiple times throughout and it isn't fun action brutality where there is a good fight and one guy wins, it's blowing people's brains out in a subway with a revolver and then chasing down wounded victim #3 type action. I can see how people might not like the lack of justification with the Clown rallies but that is also part of their purpose as I said earlier so I can't knock that. Overall it is a super complex movie that is also easy to understand at a basic level which is an awesome thing because it's hard to do both and I feel like it allows anyone to talk about it and learn the depth.
Indubitably inferior to The Conjuring but, for me, indubitably better than, for example, The Babadook.
The story is interesting and it have some good moments, but sometimes is a bit too convoluted and this ruins the immediacy of the movie.
Can't say too much about the actors because it seems that most of the weight of the movie is on Annabelle's shoulders and on the general atmosphere. Anyway they all do a pretty decent job.
Sometimes it reminded me a bit too much of Rosemary's Baby and, in a specific thing, Insidious.
Anyway worthy to be seen
The Rise of Skywalker had been on my "to watch" list even before it came out. Because of all the negative backlash this movie received, I never decided to watch it in the theaters. Recently, this movie was leaked online and as soon as it did, I decided it was time to give it a chance - despite everything that was being said and all the spoilers I accidentally read while browsing Reddit.
After watching the movie I began to think about things they could have made better, but I did enjoy it. Whether or not if it was because it was another Star Wars film has yet to be clear for me.
In the end, I felt that these movies could have been made better than what they were, as it opened up the possibility of introducing more threats than the ones we are far too familiar with in the Star Wars universe. For example - When Palpatine was revealed to be alive he could have introduced us to more Sith for Rey to face. Which makes sense in the end, since Kylo betrayed Palpatine and the Empire.
I just don't understand how Kylo Ren was the only Sith Rey had to face this entire time.
Also, Having Rey denounce her last name that her parents gave her, despite it being from a sinister origin , made me kinda lose some respect for her in the end. If she really wanted to have the Skywalker name she could have made it : Rey Skywalker Palpatine. Or Rey Palpatine Skywalker. Any way would have been fine.
Leia's CGI was terrible right for the get-go. It immediately felt like a recording from the previous movies, which I know was planned, and I believe they could have made it more convincing with the money they had. They pushed out the movies too soon and it leaves a bitter taste, just like GOT S8.
One of the most controversial movies of all time due to it's anti-black racism and the fact that this film inspired the formation of the 2nd Ku Klux Klan in the same year, but it's also a very innovative film from the early years of cinema, as seen in it's running time of 190 minutes (it was the longest movie until then), the impressive battle scenes of the American Civil War, many technical improvements like tracking shots, movie shots at night (thanks to magnesium flares) and the immense production costs at it's time of $100.000.
So, obviously this film isn't for everyone, but I recommend it to people who are interested in the history of film, likes silent movies or simply want a deeper look in the events about the Civil War/Reconstruction Era or the founding of the KKK.
Very realistic and intense survival of the fittest. Hardly any words are spoken and you don't need them. Good visual storytelling.
Surprisingly good, even if now it’s more like a Black Mirror episode. Or like the episode of Creeped Out where the A.I. cell phone went nuts. Than like the original movie. The new Chucky is more creepy than scary really and he’s even pretty funny.
Spoiler Warning: There’s some horror cliches though. If I wrote a horror movie or book. I’d spare the family pet for one. It’s just too obvious.
While the kill count is definitely less than the original or the sequels. However, the film is entertaining and darkly funny.
You may not leave thinking it was better than the original but it is fun. But maybe a little funner before Chucky goes predictably nuts.
James Dean was a true talent, and his acting is always superb this is a really great film that has a few plotpoints that don't circle around all the way but that's my only problem with this film because when this film is at it's best it's hard to dislike anything about it.
Great movie, like many of Elia Kazan, sometimes distressing to see. James Dean transmits his anguish
