This movie is fucking awful. I enjoyed the last 10-12 minutes of it but I don't know if it was because it was almost over or because of the awesome cameos by Jason Mamoa, Lee Majors, and Heather Thomas and Blake Shelton's cover of the theme song. The rest of the movie is just garbage.
An aggressively mediocre movie. I think Ryan Gosling is a lot of fun, but him and Emily Blunt lack a lot of chemistry, so their romance isn't very engaging. The humor is a bit hit or miss. It did elicit laughs from me, but a lot less than I was expecting. The movie also struggles with pacing, with it being surprisingly slower than expected, and the core mystery/intrigue being very predictable and bland. I get that's not the main focus of this movie, but considering the slower pacing and the limited impact of the romance and comedy, you'd hope the plot could carry the movie more. The cinematography was pretty good at times though, including a cool meta scene involving split screens. I also do appreciate the focus on stunt people. However, the movie is still extremely disposable and carried solely by Ryan Gosling in most places. I think if you appreciated some of David Leitch's prior movies such as Bullet Train and Deadpool 2, you might appreciate this one more than I did since I found those equally bland and mediocre.
I heard all the hype about this one and I was not impressed. If I were a 13 year old girl with a crush on Ryan Gosling, wanted some action to surround the predictable (and done to death) romance story, this might be a good fit. I didn't hang around to see if there was action as everyone said, as I shut it off about half way through.
I'm torn on this one. On one side I really like that they just tried to make an entertaining movie. On the other side, it's just too bloated and mostly just stupid. But still watchable. I just wish they used the dog more. The dog just stole the show.
can't believe these episodes are 45 min long! I just hit play and in 5 minutes I see "Next on Masters of the air". Can't wait binge the whole thing in one sitting
First thing wrong with this upcoming movie: it stars John Travolta, who can't act to save his life. Second, it's John Travolta with a "southern accent", I didn't have to watch the trailer to know he couldn't pull it off and, well, he can't. Third: It's John Travolta with a southern accent in a cowboy hat, now it's just getting silly.
Travolta is a discount Nick Cage, just taking every action flick to come his way because he needs the money so he just phones in his roles in this long string of D movies (he's gone below B and C movies entirely). His last watchable movie was Wild Hogs, which wasn't a great movie but the supporting cast made it tolerable and they offset his terrible acting. Looking at the supporting cast of THIS movie, it doesn't stand a chance to be tolerable.
Best Snyder movie so far. Sadly it is deeply misunderstood. Movie is way more deeper and complex than it looks like on first glance.
People don't realize Sweet Pea is the protagonist, Babydoll is a figment of Sweet Pea’s imagination. Babydoll does not exist. Babydoll's story is Sweet Pea’s story. Sweet Pea was sexually abused, killed her sister and is in psychiatric hospital in therapy. Babydoll is Sweet Pea's avatar. Way of dealing with grief, with guilt, and way to manage her current situation and overcome it. Babydoll is also Sweet Pea's guardian angel.
Sweet Pea is the only fully rounded character, other girls represent aspects of her psyche. Babydoll represents strength and courage, Amber loyalty, Blondie fear, and Rocket represents guilt. In the third level reality her psyche fights for the things to get her free from her current state. Second guardian angel (the Wise Man) guides her through. To fully recover she needs to get over her guilt (Rocket dies as a symbol), also other girls represent things which she needs to leave behind to fully recover .
Babydoll is one of those things. She is the fifth thing (“The fifth is a mystery. It is the reason. It is the goal. It will be a deep sacrifice and a perfect victory.”). Lobotomy of Babydoll represents Sweet Pea’s mind of taking control. Sweet Pea needs to sacrifice Babydoll to be “cured”. Escape at the end is a symbol of that process of being cured. That’s why the driver is the Wise Man, he guides her further.
Sucker Punch is Sweet Pea’s journey from “madness” to “sanity”. Movie is philosophical / psychological investigation wrapped in a special effects action-fantasy. As the movie changes realities (mostly in the third reality), Snyder uses more fetishized image of the girls. He uses clichés and cluttered iconography (nazi zombies, sexy schoolgirls). It is a way to detached and disconnected characters from second reality. Second reality, the brothel, is the “main” reality. In which everything happens.
With 'Poor Things', director Yorgos Lanthimos has created a film that has quite a few similarities with the box office hit 'Barbie'. Both are about women who start out as objects without any self-determination and, in the course of a journey, find themselves and discover their freedom. Both films also impress with fantastic costumes, good performances, and, most importantly, a phenomenal production design.
But, while I enjoyed 'Barbie', this Frankenstein story is in a completely different league. Lead actress Emma Stone delivers perhaps the best performance of her career, and Mark Ruffalo and Willem Dafoe are also great here. The absurd humor worked perfectly for me. I haven't laughed more in a movie all year than I did in this one. And ultimately, the world that Lanthimos creates is one that has never been seen before. It's really difficult to create something "new" in film in the 21st century, but that's definitely the case here.
All in all, I not only give "Poor Things" my highest recommendation, but it is also my favorite film of 2023.
So this episode released early (and also has lead to the rest of the episodes being brought forward a week) and I genuinely could not be happier with it. It's everything I ever wanted it to be and more and will definitely be something I watch over and over again.
Am I the only one who loved this movie?
Sure, it's not perfect. But it shoots for the moon and, in my opinion, mostly succeeds.
"Porco Rosso" is a striking rarity in the Miyazaki career, and one that will probably require a bigger effort from the fans to understand. It plays with different themes than his other works; for instance, there is not an interest on developing an enviromental message, or at depicting a major conflict involving humanity and nature. The story is closer to the coming-of-age intimism of "Spirited away", "My neighbor Totoro" or -his script- "Whisper of the heart", yet it takes a radically different focus. In fact, if I had to point a similarity among his films, the one that fits better to me is "Lupin III: The castle of Cagliostro".
On the other hand it is unique because of the world it builds around. Any fans of classic Hollywood will be pleased at the amount of homages that are spread through the story, both in individual scenes and in tone. This movie holds many similarities in its more dramatic part, both aesthetical and story-based, with "Casablanca"; and the slapstick comedy that is there through the whole storyline, softening the conflicts and relationships of the characters, resembles "The quiet man".
This polarity between a heavy character drama and a dreamy comedy may be a double-edged sword, in the sense that many people will probably find this movie inconsistant in terms of its mood, but I think "Porco Rosso" does a really fine work at balancing both aspects of its storyline. The comedy never disallows the viewer from appreciating the gravity of Porco as a character, and the serious and intimist sequences don't deny the zaniness of his daily life. The best thing about this is that it allows to create a full dramatic portrayal of the main character, while bringing some kind of fabulistic charm to his lifestyle, which gives nostalgic vibes to the story. This ends up being relevant as well in the romantic view that Miyazaki brings to describe one of his childhood passions, flight engineery. In this movie it becomes completely obvious through the careful visual depiction and the spectacularity of the flying scenes.
The storyline is completely focused on Porco and the universe around him. He is definitely a complex character that goes way beyond his main defining trait. In fact, his aspect in the context of the daily relationships it's the least relevant. We are told that he is a human turned into a pig by some sort of mysterious spell, but those around him still recognize Porco as a human. Even Gina, the one that he's most closely related with, treats him as if he was the same as always. The appearances in this movie are brought for a much less superficial purpose, as this transformation is used as a metaphor for the deep wound Porco carries with humanity in general, and with himself. His bitterness, however, is contrasted in the movie. That is, instead of being exaggerated, and giving rise to an overly cynical character, the story also emphasizes on his caring side. He is shown to have friends, understand their emotions and care for them; his scenes with Gina make clear that they love and respect each other. This side of him is emphasized later with the presence of Fio and the clear effect she has in his growth as a character.
The rest of the characters, while not being as fleshed out as Porco, still hold their own charm. I am specially fascinated with Gina. She doesn't even appear too often in the story but her elegance and intimist approach increase the emotional effect of every scene she's in, and the hints on her own past are so suggestive and enveloping that, despite the lack of physical presence in the plot, she manages to create a very strong emotional involvement around her. She is there in some of the most moving moments of the story and I'm specially fond of one where a flashback of her past with Porco is shown.
Fio, on the other hand, plays the counterpart of Porco as a quick-witted and joyful girl. This simple purpose is actually conveyed in the form of a very strong and charismatic character. Her chemistry with Porco through their scenes is amazing, and another one of the key points of this story. In fact my favorite scene of the movie involves them both; with Porco narrating a defining experience of his past -in his very own way, though- and Fio hearing this whole story completely captivated, understanding, finally, the dimension of his personal conflict as a whole.
Donald Curtis and the pirates, despite being technically the antagonists of the main story, are actually quite light and charming. The arrogance of Curtis is contextualized in a way that emphasizes on his innocence rather than on an actual malice. And similarly, the pirates never come off as evil and their hate towards Porco is never treated seriously.
On the artistic level, this is a great effort overall, though probably not as satisfying as other Miyazaki movies. For example, it suffers from a lack of shading in many scenes, and the designs of the background characters don't look very inspired. However, it still keeps a lot of strength in the visual depiction of the scenarios, and places like Porco's lonely island or Gina's bar are given a distinct atmosphere that becomes very effective. The design for the main characters is simple, yet very effective, with Porco being the obvious choice as the most outstanding. The aesthetics, as said, are very closely tied to the imagery of classic films, which sort of fit very well with the Italian environment of the late 20s this movie is located at.
Similarly, the soundtrack is quite outstanding overall but not as consistantly mesmerizing as in other works of the author. Then again, this is not a very relevant issue, and I guess it has to do with the huge variety of music pieces; as this variety leading to some irregularity seems unavoidable. Anyway, if I have to choose one, it would be Tokiko Kato's version of the French Revolutionary song "Le temps des cérises", that serves to introduce Gina. Her song in the ending credits is equally beautiful.
All in all, and while it's not my favorite, it is still a Ghibli and Miyazaki movie I am very fond of. It is a little tricky to recommend here, though, because its style and themes will probably not fit the tastes of an anime fan if they are mainly interested on exploring the imagery and philosophy that are associated with the Japanese culture; in fact, I think that "Porco Rosso" is a better recommendation for movie-goers than for anime fans, in general. That doesn't mean it will be necessarily less enjoyable, but it's more likely for people with a grown interest on Western filmmaking to find points in common with this movie.
If you didn't shed tears throughout the entire episode... this didn't serve you well. It's just wonderful.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
How the hell does one of the biggest franchises that exists currently end up as this? So poorly written from beginning to end. One of Marvel's worst looking movie, the CGI is sometimes terrible and other times good but the shift between the two took me out of it a couple times. The lighting is atrocious, it's as if someone was standing above the actors with leds. Worst of all is the cringey dialogue paired with the bad acting, holy shit was that bad! I mean come on lady you can't say "trillions" and be serious about it. Apart from Jonathan Majors and Paul Rudd it was filled with awful performances worst of all was Kathryn Newton she can't say a single line without being corny.
Jonathan Majors absolutely steals the show whenever he's around and his character has presence, somewhat like Darth Vader has. The whole vibe of the movie felt Star Wars-ish and I enjoyed the sci-fi elements and the aliens they were very imaginative. Still wondering if that holes obsessed alien goo was an analogy for the movie being filled with plot holes. The inclusion of M.O.D.O.(F.)K. was a good one, I enjoyed everything with him, he was funny and everyone laughed hard in the theater when he showed up. The comedy was, for once, well balanced and the action in the third act was enjoyable. Michelle Pfeiffer and Michael Douglas' characters were very awkward to me. I feel like we barely got any development with Ant-Man and The Wasp (which she was barely in) but we got plenty for Kang which I felt like it was his movie.
I don't think this was the worst Marvel movie ever but it's definitely down there, great setup for the setup of the next setup though.
I don't know what to expect from season 4. Either it's getting good again or even worse than season 2 and 3
the show should've ended with all of them dying due to the asbestos exposure
musical episodes are the worst type of episode and you cannot change my mind
Wow what a ride. So much to process. Good laughs and also some tears. Will need to watch it again. Thank you James Gunn for the Guardians of the Galaxy
Okay so walking into the theater I wasn't exactly expecting much however wow I was blown away complete must see
If you’d ask me what the highlights of the previous 2 Ant-Man movies are, I’d probably answer: I don’t remember much about them, but I liked those quirky scenes narrated by Michael Peña and the creative use of shrinking powers during the set pieces. For as forgettable as both movies are, at least I still remember the set piece with the train in the first movie, or the kitchen fight from the second movie. With this movie, I'm already having trouble remembering any specifics, because all of those typical Edgar Wright touches have been erased in favor of being a big CGI extravaganza. So, allow me to do a general breakdown of the three acts instead.
1st act: We get a set-up that's similar to Spiderman: No Way Home, which means it’s in a hurry to get to the main dish, making every main character look like an irresponsible dumbass in the process. Once we get to the quantum realm, we're met with a lot of cringe comedy. The design of the world is fine, it feels like a mashup of prequel era Star Wars, Avatar, The Fifth Element and Spy Kids, not like an original creation. A stronger, visionary director probably would've made a big difference here, or at least one who knows how to use the volume stages, because that might’ve avoided the Spy Kids comparisons.
2nd act: Jonathan Majors arrives to do some actual acting, and he somehow pulls it off despite the hammy, pseudo-intellectual lines given to him by the script. Michelle Pfeiffer also gets some time to shine, when she's on the screen with Majors it feels like the movie actually comes to life for a brief second. Still, the scenes with Kang feel tonally inconsistent with the rest of the movie, and I’m not sold on the idea of him being the Avengers level threat we’ve been waiting for. When it comes to the other actors, most of them are given nothing interesting to do, the supposed co-lead of this movie (according to the title) included. I don't like picking on younger actors, but it needs to be said that Emma Fuhrmann expressed more emotion during her 10 second appearance as Cassie Lang in Avengers: Endgame than Kathryn Newton did here. In terms of story, this portion of the movie is all about set-up and clunky exposition as delivered through monologues. One of the characters even gets introduced with his own 'previously on Ant-Man' recap, which I find insulting and shows what little faith this studio has in its audience. Besides, it probably would’ve been better to cut this character, because his inclusion is easily one of Marvel's worst creative decisions (the design and visual effects are laughable). Generally I'd say this act is pretty boring, and occasionally embarrassing.
3rd act: The movie decides it wants to be Aquaman instead, so we're getting an extended battle sequence of stuff fighting other stuff, with plenty of flashes, lasers and more stuff. It's big, it's loud, and I check out. Every cheesy crowdpleaser deserves its fair share of deus ex machina moments, but this movie spams the action movie trope of 'our main character is in peril only to get saved at the very last moment' to death at this point. Furthermore, the cringe comedy makes a big return, with Corey Stoll delivering a line so bad that it will become a meme (you'll know once you see the movie). More punchy stuff, more pew pew, more 'comedy', and thankfully the movie finally decides it has wasted enough of my time. We get a final montage that includes the first good joke of the movie, and the credits roll. Nothing is achieved, absolutely nothing. This is a cynically conceived advertisement that does not deserve your time.
3/10
Now I have seen 2 episodes it's clear that this show is what many Trekkies have been looking for : mystery of the week with some food for thought, camaraderie, some humor and (if it's not to much of a bother) some pew pew flying stuff in space.
Mount, Peck and Romijn hit the ground running in their own spin-off but Gooding as Uhura is amazing. Can't wait for an episode focused on the medical team. Of course I can't help but like Ortegas and La'an, although I see some similarities with a certain Naomi Nagata & Camina Drummer, but I'm certainly not complaining about that.
The special effects are amazing and the writers do an excellent job with giving known characters more depth while still respecting what other writers have done. The way they get Pike's command style smack dab in the middle of Archer and T Kirk is very impressive. Strong characters but with flaws. This is a crew I would actually like to be part of, something that hasn't happened since Enterprise ( Team Trip Tucker all the way )
If they can keep this up I say : "6 seasons and a movie"
i dont know about u guys but asa butterfield AND gillian anderson? ive never been so on-board before
UPDATE: just finished it and MAN you all need to watch this. its a mastery of crushing cliches and good writing!
Incredible finale! But man, it's going to be a pain waiting for the next season lol.
"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????
This show is very quickly becoming my favorite show of the year.
It has everything from a very good writing to impeccable performances by an extremely talented cast, down to the kids, an excellent cinematography, great costumes and decors, not to mention a heart wrenching story of love, loss, sex discrimination and empowerment of a woman who just refuse to let the patriarchy (and remember this happens in the 50s) dictate how she should live her life and fights back in all the ways she can.
It has all the makings of a single season show, but even if it does not get more, in itself it's gonna be a treasure to re watch over the years.
2 episodes in. I don't want to jinx it, but this looks like a proper Star Trek show. It's about time!
First episode was really amazing! Great pace, no silly fillings, all the Star Wars ingredients; from the mood, the races, the peculiar way of filming and transitions. Humor was nice and mild, but never overdone. I can't wait for the rest! <3
I'm currently watching season 6 of the original Magnum PI and was surprised to see this pop up. I immediately thought about how they could fuck up the themesong that I spent many tries attempting to record completely on my cassette-recorder but upon viewing this I must say they didn't fuck it up.
The rest however...
The thing that made Magnum PI so great was the fact, despite being a marine, that he was real human being... this Magnum, from the get-go is an action hero jumping from space and blazing his way through the Jungle, driving backward and shooting others... Why is it so important that these remakes need to lose the human aspect that made us cling so much to these characters. The original Magnum wasn't less of a hero for being afraid to get shot or hesitating to jump from one building to the other... On the contrary.
Couldn't care less that this Higgens is a woman but... where's connection between these two characters. Higgens and Magnum were at odds at the beginning of the original series but these almost seem to be at each others' throat. And let's not start about destroying the iconic Ferrari not once but twice (I know, it's popular, the A-team movie did it too, apparently it's their way of saying "fuck your past").
I'm not the kinda person to say this shouldn't exist but I do wonder why it needs to be so different from the original (same with MacGyver) that it barely resembles the source material. Maybe I don't like sucky reboots and rather have mediocre sequels, maybe I don't like bulletproof hero's but people with heart... and this comes from a person who still adores the 80s
Full disclosure: I haven't watched the complete episode (edit: I have now) and I started skipping scenes to see if it would stay like this (and as far as I could tell it did). I have three more seasons of original Magnum to go. I'll be with the lads, Higgy baby! (though I guess new TC won't be saying this to new Higgens any time soon)
