I went to a pre-screening of this movie last night, not expecting much more than a comfortable seat in an UltraAVX theatre with a big bag of popcorn with layered butter. The last three movies I’d seen of Chris Pine’s had been big disappointments and I knew he was the top of the call sheet for this film. So, basically I thought it would be a media hyped 2 to 4 out of 10. I was wrong. The story had a well crafted arc (though predictably the good guys win - I don’t even think that qualifies as a spoiler). The practical effects were amazing, almost making the CGI unnecessary. There were dungeons, dragons and mayhem. The writing was witty and the comedy was ridiculous. More than just a three lead movie, the young cast were fantastic, definitely not playing in the shadow. As usual, I did a mini-exit poll of the people sitting around me in the packed house. There was one 7.5, five 8s and I’ll add to that because I would definitely see this film again, it was a lot of fun. I give this film an 8 (great entertainment) out of 10. [Fantasy, Adventure Romp]
Just back from a secret screening of this and it had no business being so good.
Better and more fun than most of the recent Marvel movies!
I expected another crappy cristal skull, but this one was actually decent and entertaining. I mean, as long as you don't take the plot too seriously, it is Indiana Jones after all.
Glad I didn't read any of the reviews before watching it. Way too harsh. "It's an unnecessary movie", they say? As opposed to what, necessary movies?
A adaption of a side story that is in the comic, but wasn't used in the movie. Pretty much taken from the comics completely without changing stuff up.
"I AM THE CRIMSON EXECUTIONER!"
It’s good, brings back nostalgia and stays true to Aqua Teen, but it’s definitely not as good as the show. Hopefully we’ll get another one before I kick the bucket.
Massively disappointing compared to the first movie I'm afraid, for some reason in this one they've kind of shoehorned in an actual plot, which in my opinion doesn't really work well with the Aqua Teen setup, the first movie had a much looser plot and I think is much better for it.
Good, Great or Superb...? I'd say it's, "good," compared to the series...but, the acting, the acting was so good, the actors just seemed to disappear into their roles, so...eh, an eight!
(I'm a fan, not a shill!)
:taco::taco::taco:
(Too bad there isn't a, "Metalocalypse," movie, but I liked Aqua Teen better.)
Jurassic Park ran so this Land of the Lost rip-off could walk to Netflix on Saturday morning.
Not sure what to say about this. Just finished it and I already forgot what it was about. Maybe the effects were nice?
Apparently, Adam Driver has now reached the Nic Cage stage of his career.
What a waste of time, a movie just to make some money, a poor script. Not recommend it.
A good and funny short about old people getting... not bored!
You can watch it here, legally and HD.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hF5KWMX3u4Y
This movie was a try not to laugh challenge with a 100% success rate.
hilarious and unforgettable. must be seen by all
A serviceable finale, but I can’t help but wish we got one more like The Autumn of Mickey Mouse; a full length story where all the characters get to shine and they can focus on doing their own thing rather than honoring the past. If this was just an anniversary special, I might be higher on it, but as a finale I can’t help but want a little more. Still, it’s a creative, fluid, and passionate short made with love, and that was this iteration of Mickey in a nutshell. It set a new standard for the character, made him feel like a character, a bonafide attraction in of himself, and I don’t know when or if we’ll get that again. It truly was a more wonderful world with these Mickey shorts in it.
The cynical side of me wants to call this Everything, everywhere all at once for consoomers.
The optimistic side of me sees Kevin Feige finally pushing the boundaries of his own franchise.
I guess it’s a little bit of both in the end.
Undoubtedly, the best thing the movie has going for it is the Sam Raiminess of it all. His fingerprints are all over it; you’re getting the weird camera angles, camp, his sense of horror, etc. It definitely has more style than some other Marvel movies, though there's also still some of the usual blandness. I'll give it to Marvel for putting in a scene where a talking corpse gives a heartfelt, sentimental speech. There's more of a psychedelic feel to it than the first film, but every time it tends to get really interesting it feels like Raimi's being reigned it to adhere to Marvel's demands. Elizabeth Olsen and Benedict Cumberbatch are giving some of their best performances as these characters to date, and the music’s really well done. But ultimately the film’s Achilles heel is its own script, which is complete junk. The story is thin, messy, nonsensical, and at times flat out embarrassing. The set-up in the first act is very rushed, while the second and third act feel like they’re written by a Reddit fanpage (you just know for a fact that Marvel only went in this direction because of the 2 Batmen that have been announced for The Flash). It’s Marvel at its most ‘producty’, and it’s going to trick a lot of people into thinking the film is better than it is. Regardless, I hope Patrick Stewart got a big paycheck for ruining his own perfect send-off in Logan at the very least. A lot of the story beats don’t make sense either, with most of the characters arcs feeling rushed and nonsensical, even despite the copious amounts of exposition that are desperately trying to tie everything together. The choices made with Wanda in the third act are baffling, and I still don’t know what the takeaway is supposed to be by the end of the film. Her motivation is problematic in general, and I don’t like the use of the [insert plot device] corrupts the mind of the villain trope, which is becoming very overused in the MCU (Ant-Man, Winter Soldier) and just a lazy way of forcing a conflict where the villain stays redeemable. The new character (America Chavez) is a boring, underdeveloped plot device, while Strange himself doesn't even have a real arc. It's the kind of film where a lot happens, but very little leaves an actual impression. I’m not sure what happened, but I get the impression that a significant portion of this film was reworked and rewritten during post production. The action didn’t impress me whatsoever, but that’s been a case with these films for a while now (some of the stuff in Shang-Chi excluded). Some of the visuals look tacky and unfinished, the action’s a bunch of people shooting flashing lights at each other, shots don’t linger enough, people move like animated characters, it’s all the usual bs (and this is coming from someone who thinks the action and effects in the first one are still underappreciated to this day). Inbetween the first film and the sequel, Marvel has become a machine that’s now collapsing under its own pressure. If Disney would allow it, they really should go back to making 2-3 properties a year. The consistent mediocrity of their current output is killing their own longevity.
4/10
Oh, and your kids will be fine watching this. I’ve seen some uproar about the ‘horror’ and violence of the film, and it’s honestly not that shocking. There’s way more creepy stuff in some of the Harry Potter and Indiana Jones films (or just your average 80’s kids film in general).
This movie exceeded my expectations. The cast gave impressively honest and committed performances, and the direction was creative and interesting. The story and script are very simple, realistic, and relatable, but not completely predictable. There's some real emotion involved, too. And I also enjoyed the fun soundtrack. It is worth the watch (although I don't think I will ever rewatch). I recommend this film for fans of coming-of-age stories and/or basketball, and especially for young viewers of Asian descent. I will definitely keep an eye out for more from this director!
To begin with, ignore the fact that this movie has been released under two different titles. Most cinephiles know that that point alone usually means the movie is scraping the bottom of the barrel. Whether if you know this film as Star Quest or Terminal Voyage means very little. Neither one really sums up the real feel of the movie.
While not a super low-cost release (it was nominated for a Saturn Award in 1994), you can tell that the budget was somewhat limited. The main ship, along with the two single-pilot fighters used during one of the VR sequences, were spacecraft from the 1980 cult-classic Battle Beyond the Stars (A space version of Akira Kurosawa's classic Seven Samurai (1954)).
After you get past that hurdle, the rest of the film holds up effect-wise until the ending scene, which was just graphically horrible. While trying to not give too much away, the simple way of looking at this movie is as it being a retelling of Alien (1979) without having a creature running amok throughout the ship. The cast is solid one, albeit they are only High-B grade quality, There are some unfortunate 90s stereotypes (the Asian Woman is a drug fiend, the Black Commander is mentally weak and unfit for command, the Frenchman is focused on food, the Russian is only thinks with a military mentality etc.) but the introduction of Virtual Reality as a form of entertainment is a bit forward-thinking for the time.
All in all, it isn't that Star Quest / Terminal Voyage does anything terrible wrong. Simply put, it just doesn't do anything novel or fresh. Even the plot twist at the end has been done many times before. It's a nice 80 minute distraction and nothing more.
In Captain Marvel, I didn’t like the main character, but I thought the movie around her was quite solid.
Black Widow is the exact opposite: I quite liked the two leads, but the movie surrounding them doesn’t really work.
Pros:
- Scarlett Johansson and Florence Pugh are easily the most entertaining part of the film.
- I liked the first act. It feels like Cate Shortland is trying to do an impression of a Jason Bourne movie. It’s fairly humourless, the cinematography is bleak, and the score is intense. It has a tone that no other MCU film has.
- The action (minus the final battle) is fairly well done. As per usual, less editing would’ve made it better, but at least it feels weighty.
Cons:
- The story itself isn’t that interesting. The themes and main mcguffin are oddly similar to Captain Marvel, though it’s not executed as well. The villains also fail to make an impression.
- This movie really loses its identity as it goes along, to the point where it turns more into a generic Marvel movie as it goes on, and eventually a generic action blockbuster by the third act. Everything gets way too big and bloated for its own good.
- Not a fan of the Russian accents, they sound very tacky. Just let everyone speak with a normal American accent, I can look past the fact they’re Russians. Besides, they even had a story based reason to ditch the Russian accents entirely.
- I found David Harbour quite cringeworthy in this.
- The main characters are protected by strong plot armour. Most characters should’ve been killed 3-4 times based on the things that happen during the action scenes. This isn’t even a ‘suspend your disbelief, it’s an action movie’ situation, it gets really ridiculous, to the point where it’s almost Fast and Furious level.
- The pacing is a bit inconsistent, you really feel it slowing down during the second act.
Finally, I want to address that I already find the use of Nirvana songs in movies like these quite distasteful, but the cover that's used during the credits literally sucked all the life out of the song.
4.5/10
To be enjoyed like a long, rambling fantasy novel -- not like a punchy action flick (though it is sometimes also that).
This is an honest, spoiler-free review coming from your average fan (not a critic):
I just saw this new marvel film, and I have to say... it's no where near as bad as the critics make it out to be.
Yes there is a lot of dialogue. But it gives the characters a chance to shine and for scenes to breathe.
People call this film dense. I would disagree. Yes there is a fair bit of plot and history told, however I would say that other mcu films have simply much simpler plotlines most of the time.
There are moments when things are just about to become exciting, and then it is interrupted with more dialogue which instantly kills the suspension.
There are a number of plot twists in this film, and some unexpected things happen that I wouldn't have seen coming.
This film has a slow burn, but sometimes that's a good thing. Would I have liked more action? Yes. Was I unhappy with the action we do get? No.
I will admit, going into this film I was expecting a masterpiece, and while I wouldn't quite call it that, its definitely a well-made film, marvel or not.
Oh. And expect to have to do some reading at the very beginning. Kinda reminds me of a classic Star Wars opening crawl.
There's at least some cool environments but they're tainted by terrible faces and a stagnant plot.
The first short in what I like to call the “Mickey, Donald & Goofy” cartoons. They’re some of my favorite. This first one’s a bit rough, but fun, and does a great job showing why this was such a popular Disney cartoon formula for a few years. Pete makes an appearance too, still sporting his peg leg, though it switches feet at the end of the cartoon. The gags throughout are generally solid, and do a great job of showing off Donald and Goofy’s personalities in particular.
Marvel's Shang Chi & The 10 Rings Is Another Marvel Hit On Their Hands That Surpassed My Expectations And I Can't Wait For Their Next Phase Of Marvel & The Development Of Shang Chi
The Trajectory Of Your Life Will Be Nothing Like You Knew Before - This Statemwnt Truly Describes This Movie Perfectly - Shang Chi Is Truly A Complex Character With A Painful Journey That Brings Out The Fightet In Him To Accept This Pain & Face His Father - And The Funny Moments Hit The Target While Action Is Going
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon Meets Marvel - An Amazing Story With Epic Action - Can't Reccomed The Movie Enough & Stay For The Two Post Credir Scenes
One of the best solo MCU movies in a while. I went into this not knowing the story at all. I was highly entertained and not lost at all. Definitely worth the $12 at the theater!
A very pretty little film. I wish my life was half as amazing as the vibrant imagination and stories that the little boy experiences.
Spiderman No Way Home - Expected The Unexpected And You Will Still Be Surprised - This Is The Best Yet From Marvel Phase 4 - They Outdid It With Spiderman No Way Home & I Loved All The Characters In It - No Spoilers For Sure But All I Can Say Is Try To Avoid Any Trailers What So Ever And You Will Not Be Disappointed - The Story Was Heartfelt And The Action Was Nonstop From Beginning To End - I Will Watch Again It Was That Good
Stay For The Two Post Credit Scenes - Must Stay To Watch Them - Also Avoid All Trailer If Possible
The Only Part Is Marvel Needs To Start Coming Together Is Marvel's Phase Four Isn't Clear - With The Avengers And Each Avenger They All Came Together But With This It's A Mess But Still This Is The Best Spiderman Movie Yet And By Far The Best Marvel Movie Out Of Phase 4
If this film is a cake, then it’s got the best possible frosting you could wish for. The cake itself, however, isn’t great.
I’ve always had a strange relationship with these films. I don’t really care for the Raimi films (I think they’re overly cheesy, poorly acted and dated, though don’t expect anyone from around my age to admit that), the Webb films are fine (really like the first one, second one’s a mess) and I’ve really liked the 2 recent ones (not as much as Into the Spiderverse, but still good in their own right).
Compared to the previous 2, this one pretty much ditches the John Hughes aesthetic as it goes along, and it goes into full on, operatic superhero mode.
Unfortunately, it is another one of those project that puts nostalgia and fan pandering over story and character, the kind of blockbuster we’re seeing over and over again in a post Force Awakens world.
This story is completely hacked together, consisting of so many contrivances, conveniences and established characters acting out of character that it becomes a bit of a shitshow ( Doctor Strange, a genius, is being tricked by teenagers; Peter not knowing about the consequences of the spell is a very forced way to set the plot in motion; Ned being able to open portals is quite ridiculous when the Doctor Strange movie made a point about how hard that is to learn; why is Venom in the universe given how they set up the rules of the multiverse, and the list goes on ). The problem is that they needed to take that bullet in order to make the film they wanted to make here (or rather, the film fans wanted to see), but that doesn’t make it the right choice by any means, because it leads to a nonsensical film with a rushed pace.
Look, you can nitpick this film to death ( why would a university publicly admit that MJ and Ned are rejected because of their connection to Peter? ), but that’s not even my point. It’s heightened and not meant to be taken that seriously, I get that, but you at least need some form of internal logic, you cannot just do these unearned things because the plot demands it.
It’s not all bad though, Holland’s Spider-man still has a very good arc with some great emotional beats in it, and they make some very bold choices towards the end that I hope they stick with. It’s very similar to the first Fantastic Beasts, so I hope they don’t pull a Crimes of Grindelwald by retconning everything .
The acting is great, Holland and Zendaya give their best and most mature performances yet, and the villains are all good. I really like that they toned Dafoe down a little bit.
It looks fine. It has some of the best cinematography out of the trilogy, but some of the action looks very animated (again, stop touching up the suit, just let it wrinkle ffs) and unfinished, which is probably because this thing was rushed out, as we know.
For instance, there are some really wonky shots in the scene where Spider-Man fights Doctor Strange, the close-ups with Benedict Cumberbatch look like a weather forecast on television.
The references to the previous incarnations are a bit of a mixed bag. I like that they progressed some stuff and did interesting things with the things they referenced ( for example, you really feel like time has passed with Tobey and Andrew, they’re not giving a copy of their original performances, which is also a great excuse to tone down the awkwardness and lack of personality in Tobey’s version. Also, the banter between them is very nice, of course ), but most of it plays like a pandering greatest hits compilation. I don't need Dafoe to say you know, I'm something of a scientist myself again, it is nothing but a cheap attempt to trigger my nostalgia button.
Finally, it also has some of the worst tonal balance and comedy out of the trilogy, especially with some of the lines that are given to Benedict Cumberbatch.
5/10
In summary/TLDR: great idea for Sony’s bank account, but the seeds for this needed to be planted much earlier in order to make it a good film.
