I have to thank again to all the "professional" reviewers for the bad scores. Without that, I would not even bother, as I'm not really a fan of Super Mario games. But wow, was this enjoyable and fun. Really nicely done, and they even stuck with the game logic. It has been a long time since I wished a movie was longer.
Very cheaply made. Terrible acting and story. As usual, trailer is better than the movie.
Lets be honest, we all went to see the movie for the action, for the gore which was spectacular by the way! We all knew what it was about... except the piece of shit who brought his kid to the movie and his wife started yelling at him and due to her sitting next to me she was also yelling in my ear and not even my shushes would calm her down... I mean bitch can't you take it outside?!
Okay, okay... the movie, obviously isn't a masterpiece, the acting? the dialogue? You'll find better dialogue on 4chan... The story? A mix between Taken and Home Alone... But even with its flaws I still enjoyed it... why? I don't know, '90s nostalgia, I guess...
If you're a fan of action flicks, this movie is for you. But keep in mind this is not a family friendly movie...
Now that's what i call a shitty sequel.
Don’t read the comments or reviews, just fuckin watch it. Not for the Evas, not for the fights or the quality of the animation, watch it for the best delirious poem around, This is not anime or entertainment whatsoever, this is pure art.
Well, I'll never listen to That's Life by Frank Sinatra in the same way again, that's for sure.
Before I start, there are two groups of people who need to be addressed:
- Regarding the people who are saying that it's too violent, and a movie based on comics shouldn't be like that: please, go back to watching Dora: The Explorer.
- Regarding the people who are calling it a Taxi Driver or King of Comedy rip-off: Is Mr. Robot a Fight Club rip-off? You have to see the difference between ripping something off and taking inspiration + adding your own ideas to it. Also, Taxi Driver is a vigilante story, something which this isn't.
So, most of the praise you heard about this movie I can absolutely get behind. The cinematography and score are without a doubt Oscar worthy. Joaquin Phoenix is front and center, and he absolutely shines. It is a full on character study, and the movie shows everything from the Joker's point of view. It keeps the movie focussed, but it has to be said that there are no other interesting characters to get invested into, something that other character studies don't forget. The pacing is also very well done. It doesn't feel like a slow movie, and the final 20 minutes are something special. To me, however, the first 90 minutes are a lot more interesting. I love the fact that we get to see an in-depth exploration of the causes of social exclusion and what leads to Arthur's downward spiral. Phillips very wisely points to a variety of causes at very different levels of society (elites, government, punks), while not forgetting that some blame also falls into the hands of Arthur himself (e.g. his megalomania). This is a very strong and nuanced message.
And then there's the film's other message. When it comes to a film like this (a protagonist with a downwards spiral), the movie often starts with making you feel sympathetic towards the character. The Wolf of Wallstreet does that. Breaking Bad does that. And Joker also does that. But then there's a point where the character crosses the line, a moment which you can almost pinpoint in this movie, namely the scene where he kills his mom . From that point on, a movie should clearly condemn what he's doing in order to not give out an immoral or wrong message. In The Wolf of Wallstreet, Di Caprio starts to lose everything. In Breaking Bad, Walter White starts to lose everything. Phillips, however, goes out of his way of condemning what his character does. Instead, he plays swelling and upbeat music during the film's darkest moments. Moreover, Joker gets a happy ending , and no other characters have a sincere conversation about the atrocities of what he's doing. In other words, the movie gives off the impression of still being on his side, thereby presenting violence as the answer to this man's problems, and I can totally agree with some of the critics who have a moral problem with that. I understand that they wanted to stay with Arthur's perspective through the end, but this comes at the cost of one of the biggest mistakes a film like this can make. At the same time, one major flaw doesn't make a film bad. I mean, Gone With The Wind is immoral in the sense that it is racist, but is it a bad film? Absolutely not.
7.5/10
Terrible.
Update to my original 2021 review with new 2022 content. Will Smith's slap was more thrilling than this movie!
What Kong: Skull Island may lack in substance, it makes up for with sheer excitement.
Finally, a thrilling adventure movie, like in the olden days, but with the added creative possibilities offered by modern technology. Breathtaking scenery, a straightforward plot and jaw-dropping action sequences make this new Kong iteration a thoroughly entertaining movie, with Vogt-Roberts' dynamic direction not allowing for an instant of dullness. And the colors! In an era in which each movie has to be desaturated to feel epic, Kong really felt as a breath of fresh air.
The movie isn't without its faults though, mainly regarding some underdeveloped characters that are clearly cannon fodder, a bit of over-reliance on the tone contrast between comedic and tragic and some rapidly switching character motivations. It could really have used 15 minutes more.
These faults are, however, dwarfed by the pure experience. An incredible visual treat with no shortage of excitement. Solid 7.5.
Wow, what happened here?
A Mulan remake had so much potential but it seems like they really phoned this one in. I'm totally cool with them going in a new direction compared to the first one as do the other live action remakes (except for the butchering of Mulan's backstory and turning her into a generic chosen-one), but there are many aspects that make this not a great film on its own.
Not only does the film have no personality or engaging qualities, but the directing and editing are just kind of bad. It's clear this is a high budget film based on the set pieces and costumes, but the cuts are choppy, with weird camera angle decisions and times of poor framing. The pacing is also weird- it's a two hour movie that has a long ramp up with quick climax and ending. This leaves the audience little chance to get attached to the characters. The writing and acting also leave much to be desired- often times empty, awkward, emotionless, and full of plot holes.
If this didn't have the Mulan and Disney brand behind it, it'd instantly be forgotten. This could have been so much better.
Belle... A collection of music videos glued together by a really badly written narrative.
Belle is one of the weakest animated movies i have seen in the past few years, and that makes me really sad, as a fan of the director i went into this expecting an 8 or an 9, but what i got is a 5 at best.
Belle has a interesting idea, with its reworking of the "beauty and the beast" and its child abuse themes... But it fails to build on its characters and to explain basic premises of its own world, making it for a very boring and bland experience.
Most of the things we thought would be relevant were completely ignored and absolutely useless, we asked ourselves watching "did she get some disease and now is unable to sing in the real world and that is why the U is an escape?" No, they never address this, she just fails to sing and vomits once because the movie wanted to i guess? They keep all her "friends" completely irrelevant and underdeveloped until the last quarter of the movie, so i basically don't care about any of them in the end, they never explain the socio economical structure of the U world... How does this work? They say the avatar is made automatically based on people physiognomy, but the avatars are crazy different in form and species, how can that be made from ones physiognomy? How is the invitation system decided? Who is invited and why? Why even have an invitation system instead of selling the app or freely distributing it if that ends up irrelevant to the story? Why show us a very interesting singer character on the start that rivalizes our belle if you are just going to forget her for the whole movie? How to know which avatars are AI controlled and which are actually people? Is it possible do die in U? If not, what is the relevance of all the conflict we see?
Belle raises too many questions and answer very little, it presents us with an beautiful and interesting virtual world but tells us NOTHING about it and how it all works, it presents us with futuristic technology in a world that seems stuck in the 2000s, it gives us many bland and uninteresting characters with only one personality trait each and develops none of them... There are so many problems, so many drawn out scenes... That it all gets boring and tiresome...
And.... That makes me really sad, the music is GREAT, the visuals are BEAUTIFUL, the music scenes are AMAZING... But they are few and far in between and the rest of the movie... Is not interesting, they present us a nice duality of belle and the beast, but their interest in one another is so out of nowhere and forced that it doesnt feel even a little bit real or natural... There is a great scene that develops the characters and emotional connects, but it is only in the last quarter of the movie... When it has already lost all my interest and attention... and the plot of child abuse is ok and very important... But it feels shoved in... The main plot... Feels shoved in... Oh, and how they find the boy... Well, that was just the worst "investigation" bit i have ever seen...
I really wanted to like this movie, but there are just too many unanswered questions, just too little character development, and a plot that is just generic and bland enough to lose my attention... The visuals and music alone are not enough...
At the end, i feel like they made some really great music videos and didnt want to release it as just animated music videos, so they wrote a really bland movie around it and shoved a controversial and important theme(child abuse) to appeal to peoples hearts in an effective but kinda cheap way.
When teen movies were funny, not just stupid :) !
There was nothing enlightening here. I felt that the engineering from social, psychological, computational, and mathematical aspects were interesting and should have been explored more, since they essentially glossed over the misinformation campaigns running rampant on every social media platform the world over. Even if this doc would've focused on regulation, or the lack thereof, that would've been something, but they chose to not call any entities out, remain middle-of-the-road, and out of the fray. I think that this topic would've been much better served as a multi-part series that explored the various ramifications of social media, rather than 90 minutes of glossed over, big-picture fluff that didn't hit at the heart of any of the numerous implications caused by the inherent designs of social media platforms.
I will say, however, there were far better recommendations for how to combat this ever-present problem in the last few moments of the film, while the credits rolled. The director had the interviewees each list methods they utilize to prevent overexposure to the ills of social media to them and their families.
I pushed back watching this for a while now. I did not want to go through what I went through when I watched Clannad. Yet here I am... feeling so down after watching this amazing piece of art. It makes me wonder what kind of life I'm living, and why I feel so empty after watching Anime such as this one.
Friendship is an amazing thing, but not everyone gets to experience it... Anxiety, depression, social awkwardness, etc. This Anime really puts that into perspective, among many other things.
My final thoughts: If you have not watched this yet, or you are trying to decide whether you should, please know that this Anime is an emotional roller coaster, and you will likely cry or feel very depressed after watching this. I pushed back watching this because I did not want to cry, but I watched it tonight and have no regrets. Watch this masterpiece when you are ready, and don't force yourself into it. I'm glad I waited.
I was smiling the entire movie. The level of detail and care that went into this film is incredible. Tributes from the first game to the last mario game. Yes, it's a children's movie, yes, the screenplay is not a masterpiece and yes, you will like it more if you are fan of the games. But it's a fun ride from start to finish.
Utterly disappointed. Movie felt very rushed and the editing was awkward. They skimmed right through any sort of world building. For example, literally zero explanation of why the Lin Kuei was sent to kill Hanzo or what the motivation is for Bi Han to align with Shang Tsung... or how he was able to live for centuries. The addition of Cole was completely unnecessary. MK is too rich with characters and lore that this addition is completely unjustified. The movie was stuffed with fan service and zero substance. No Mortal Kombat tournament actually took place and they had the audacity to make Shang Tsung say next time he’s bringing an army? Die hard Mortal Kombat fans should feel insulted by this movie.
If this movie isn’t evidence of the need to turn down CGI in Hollywood, I dunno what is.
For as many things as they got right, they got just as many wrong
This movie is without a doubt the best adaptation of King Arthur. The acting is spectacular, the visual style is stunning, the action is excellent, the themes from the source material are all there, and the costumes/sets are the best I have ever seen. I don't think anyone will ever make an adaptation that stays so true to Arthurian legend, manages to cover the entirety of the story, and still ends up so amazing.
If you don't believe in Santa after watching this movie, you're just "denying your inner child."
This is my favourite Christmas film of all time. I used to watch this constantly as a kid (no matter what time of year it was!) and I still watch it every year at Christmas. It never fails to give me goosebumps, because it always takes me back to being a child, and it is an incredible reminder that magic really does exist.
I'm also a big fan of Home Improvements, and Tim Allen is equally as hilarious and entertaining here. Not only is he a brilliant comedian, but he really knows how to play those sentimental scenes that tug at your heart-strings.
Eric Lloyd who plays the young boy Charlie is fantastic throughout and can equally play a multitude of moods in a believable way to make the story flow so well.
When I was little, I always found the role of Neil, played by Judge Reinhold quite irritating, because he is too much of a grown up and his lack of understanding childhood is unreal. But now I've grown up, I understand that most adults are as stupid as his character is and so I've began to sympathise with his point of view, even though I entirely disagree with it. I understand he's MEANT to be irritatingly stupid!
Another character who deserves a special mention is Bernard, one of the Elves, played by David Krumholtz. When I was little, I used to colour in a bit of paper with a dark green felt tip pen and stick it on my forehead, so that I could have "hair" that looked like Bernard's. (I'm not sure it did look QUITE like his hair, but it was worth the effort.) I've always had a soft spot for Bernard. Even though his character can be quite bossy at times, he can also be quite endearing at other times. He has a lot of compassion for people who DO believe in magic, but doesn't have any time for people who don't.... A bit like me! And that's why I identify with him the most. Like the rest of the cast, he plays this part so well.
Both the background music and the soundtrack songs help add to the festive feel of this film, and helps bring Christmas and Santa to life. If you STILL don't believe in Kris Kringle after watching this movie, just remember this dialogue from the film:
Charlie: Have you ever seen a million dollars?
Neil: No.
Charlie: Just because you haven’t seen it, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.
It's OK. I didn't need my heart anyway.
This is THE DEFINITIVE Superman movie. With truly spectacular cinematography, a heartwarming coming of age story, enthralling action and perhaps the best superhero movie soundtrack ever from Hans Zimmer, this movie hits every beat for Superman fans new and old.
As a DC comics fan growing up, the critical response to this movie prevented me going to watch it at the theatre. I mean who wants one of their favourite superheroes being "humourless", "too violent", and "not epic enough"??? Well, I can truly sit here now having said "lesson learned". Never again will I allow critical response to prevent me from experiencing something I had waited a lifetime for. I will never get to see Man of Steel in the theatre, and this movie was shot for the big screen. Some of the shots are truly beautiful, especially when he wakes up in the ocean with whales, and when he learns to fly in the snowy mountains.
The story is often criticised for not having the kookiness of the original four movies with Christopher Reeve - and don't misunderstand this for hating on the first few iterations, I have nothing but fond memories of growing up with those films - but I challenge anyone to watch those movies now and claim that they still hold up. A truly great movie as well as standing the test of time, has rewatch value, and Man of Steel is one of the few superhero movies that I have watched time and time again. This requires a great story.
The story of this movie focuses on a boys relationship with his fathers, and his coming of age through those guises. His cautious and protective Earth father who tought him the morality and goodness we expect from our Superman, who sacrificed himself in order to keep his sons secret; and his Kryptonian father who encouraged him to embrace his difference and be the man Earth needs him to be.
A bonus is that the relationship between Lois and Clark doesn't seem forced. You get to see how she is a great investigative reporter and through her reporting she discovers Superman's true identity. By protecting it, you can see Clark's appreciation and the weight of not being able to talk about it to anyone - something that bothers him throughout the great flashback scenes as wonderfully portrayed by Dylan Sprayberry and Cooper Timberline - being lifted.
The character development of the antagonist, General Zod is done in a way other superhero movies can only be envious of. The message that this character, like all other Kryptonians are born with a specific purpose, in this case to protect Krypton at all costs, comes across well. From his perspective he is the superhero of his own story, trying to save his planet and his people, and that is the truest of tests for supervillain development.
And this brings me to the epic and controversial (for some reason) third act. As mentioned earlier, Superman has a strong moral code instilled in him by Jonathan Kent, which is shown throughout the flashbacks. Any observer who doesn't see that Snyders portrayal of Superman has the most morality of any Superman in cinematic history is simply not paying attention. He doesn't spin the Earth backwards to rewind time just to save his girlfriend like in the original, and he doesnt go back to Smallville and hook up with Lana because the love of his life Lois is ignoring him a little bit like in Superman III. That Superman, despite all of his displayed morality (e.g. where he refrains from fighting the bullies) feels he must kill General Zod is one of the most powerful moments in superhero movie history. He repeatedly begs Zod to give up his quest to destroy Earth and humans now that his quest to return Krypton has failed. Zod makes it clear as day that he will NEVER give up, and that he will destroy humanity at all costs as an act of revenge. What was Clark supposed to do? He was left with no choice! Add to this the fact that Zod's laser beams were inches away from killing a whole family, Superman reluctantly had to break his neck. Yet unlike other superheroes he did not gloat in victory, the pain and anguish in that scream that follows is filled with the heartbreak of breaking both his moral code and killing one of the few other fellow Kryptonians in the universe.
Overall, this movie gets better every single time I watch it. If you haven't watched it since it came out and had mixed feelings the first time, please give this movie another try without the immediate negative reviews that were extensively covered in the media at the time of release. It truly deserves it. Man of Steel is THE DEFINITIVE Superman movie.
