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Blazing Minds (92 KP) rated The Monster Squad (1987) in Movies
Nov 1, 2021 (Updated Nov 3, 2021)
The Monster Squad – Still Has NARDS!!
The Monster Squad is a movie that may be over 30 years old, damn I feel old now, but it still a brilliant watch, the makeup effects from Stan Winston Studios are amazing and even in today’s standard of overdosing with CGI, the movie has that feeling of realism.
The script from Fred Dekker and Shane Black is also something is directed on to the screen with pure style by Fred Dekker, the comedic elements still work now and I still find myself laughing loudly at many of the moments that the kids come out with some great one-liners.
The script from Fred Dekker and Shane Black is also something is directed on to the screen with pure style by Fred Dekker, the comedic elements still work now and I still find myself laughing loudly at many of the moments that the kids come out with some great one-liners.
David McK (3557 KP) rated Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1982) in Movies
Mar 22, 2022
I was going to start this by claiming this was the middle of the Mad Max trilogy, but I had temporarily forgotten about Fury Road.
Perhaps it's better to say this is the middle of the Mel Gibson era of Mad Max films.
It's also hard to believe that this is nearly 40 years old now, holding up remarkably well for its age. That, I think, is probably due to its reliance on practical effects for most of the scenes of vehicular mayhem that occur throughout (in the post apocalyptic wasteland) rather than CGI.
In my books, this is definitely a step up from the first movie.
Perhaps it's better to say this is the middle of the Mel Gibson era of Mad Max films.
It's also hard to believe that this is nearly 40 years old now, holding up remarkably well for its age. That, I think, is probably due to its reliance on practical effects for most of the scenes of vehicular mayhem that occur throughout (in the post apocalyptic wasteland) rather than CGI.
In my books, this is definitely a step up from the first movie.
Neon's Nerd Nexus (360 KP) rated Alita: Battle Angel (2019) in Movies
May 13, 2019
Fighting fit
#alitabattleangel may just be the most #intense & visually splendid mature cgi fest I've seen in a long long time. Having not seen #anime that inspired this #movie i had no idea what i was walking into with this one. Upon leaving it i not only felt extremely satisfied but also like i had experienced something #breathtaking & full to the brim with #passion. To start I can't stress enough just how god damn #beautiful this #film is, cgi is staggering as well as jaw dropping. From the intricate inner machinery wires, dust particles & realistic lighting to the tiny blemishes on skin Alita simply knocks it out the park. Its locations are vast, immersive, claustrophobic, lived in, #depressing & full to the brim with story telling/world building so much so that they could each tell a story themselves. #Animation is slick, fluid & #natural with #human & cgi interaction weighty & almost flawlessly done. Story wise its extremely empowering as we watch #Alita grow from & innocent child like #girl into a tuff driven #woman. Seeing Alita emit such wonderful human emotions such as #love, excitement & #happiness is not only #heartwarming but also #magical. Starting so warm & ending so bleak we see Alitas innocence almost ripped away from her as she is forced to #mature fast letting her primal instincts & bad human traits (such as jealousy/#anger) take control tarnishing her other wise loving/careing inner self. Its tense, adrenaline inducing stuff & this mixed with well constructed action & your token damn right nasty at times #robertrodriguez death scenes its not always the happiest of films either. #Deep themes are explored but theres alot of them too so only surfaces are scratched. My favourite being how #society/entertainment glorifies/condones violence & uses it as a tool to control us all. Negatives - if anything #Battleangel is far to short, i feel i needed another hour of content in there somewhere especially the final act which felt rushed. If we dont get a sequel or 3 i will be very disappointed as this is a fantastic world i simply must know more about it. A must see for sure. #edskrein is an absolute joy to watch too. #odeon #odeonlimitless #robot #thursdaythoughts
Rodney Barnes (472 KP) rated Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) in Movies
May 31, 2019
Godzilla Lover's Movie
Contains spoilers, click to show
Yes...an American made Godzilla movie done right! The big four...Rodan, Mothra, Ghidorah and the big G made a big impression on the screen for me. The story was great and the CGI was very good. The story involves Monarch trying to protect the Titans, the military wanting to destroy the Titans and a Eco terrorist organization wanting to release them to cause havoc. A lot of things was done right. For instance Ghidorah's orgin from space. I was very pleased when they addressed that. It will take you on an emotional roller coaster as you see Godzilla and Ghidorah battle for a high and the death of Dr. Serizawa for a low. Which if you know the original Godzilla movie he sacrificed himself to destroy Godzilla but in this instance he sacrificed himself to save Godzilla. as for the acting it was very good. Millie Bobby Brown has a bright future ahead of her as she did a very solid job of acting. There is a post credit scene involving the leader of the terrorist organization finding one of the heads of Ghidorah. There was a mention of them wanting to clone Titans. I believe that there may be a team up of Kong and Godzilla after they fight it out next year!! I recommended this movie to any Godzilla fan.
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Pokémon: Detective Pikachu (2019) in Movies
Jun 15, 2019 (Updated Jun 15, 2019)
Magical (I'm 30 years old dammit)
I was the exact target audience at the time of the original Pokémon cartoon series, and invested a fair portion of my childhood playing through Pokémon Red, Blue, and Yellow, so seeing this all unfold on screen was quite something.
The action kicks off immediately, with Mewtwo (all of my friends bloody loved a bit of Mewtwo back in the day), ticking all the right nostalgia boxes from the start.
It's not long before were pushed into the wider world of Pokémon, both original and later generations, and it just filled me with childish joy to be honest.
The CGI is odd - in a way that I was aware that I was watching CGI creatures, but at the same time, they didn't feel out of place alongside the human characters, it all blends pretty well.
Looking past the blinding nostalgia, the story was engaging enough (even if it does get to absurd levels of silly towards the end), the action pieces were all pretty fun, and the cast were likable enough for the most part.
I spend more time than I probably should playing video games, so it's exited me to no end that we finally have a pretty decent video game movie, and I can only hope that Detective Pikachu is the start of something good, both for future Pokémon installments, and just video game adaptions in general.
The action kicks off immediately, with Mewtwo (all of my friends bloody loved a bit of Mewtwo back in the day), ticking all the right nostalgia boxes from the start.
It's not long before were pushed into the wider world of Pokémon, both original and later generations, and it just filled me with childish joy to be honest.
The CGI is odd - in a way that I was aware that I was watching CGI creatures, but at the same time, they didn't feel out of place alongside the human characters, it all blends pretty well.
Looking past the blinding nostalgia, the story was engaging enough (even if it does get to absurd levels of silly towards the end), the action pieces were all pretty fun, and the cast were likable enough for the most part.
I spend more time than I probably should playing video games, so it's exited me to no end that we finally have a pretty decent video game movie, and I can only hope that Detective Pikachu is the start of something good, both for future Pokémon installments, and just video game adaptions in general.
Sarah (7800 KP) rated Venom (2018) in Movies
Nov 1, 2018
Much better than expected
Considering some of the terrible critics reviews for this I was expecting it to be horrendous, but for the most part it was actually quite enjoyable.
Tom Hardy makes this film. He is fantastic as Eddie Brock and Venom, even if he does go a little ott cringey in parts. He really injects some much needed humour and likeability into this film, without him this really would have been terrible. Some of the CGI is patchy in parts and the final fight scene is overwhelming due to the sheer amount of CGI going on. There's some dodgy editing and an even dodgier script, and the ending feels rather rushed. Riz Ahmed is a great actor but vastly underused, and to echo every other reviews Michelle Williams is absolutely awful. She contributed nothing other than major irritation for the entire film.
I'm not a massive comic person but do recall Venom from comics and some of the earlier Spiderman cartoons, and I'm actually fairly impressed with this origin story and how Venom has been portrayed. Let's face it, they couldn't get much worse than what came out in Spiderman 3. Whilst this film has a lot of faults, it's still very entertaining.
I do wish they'd given this a proper Marvel film though. It already comes across as quite dark, and I think this could've been fantastic had they given it a Deadpool type makeover.
Tom Hardy makes this film. He is fantastic as Eddie Brock and Venom, even if he does go a little ott cringey in parts. He really injects some much needed humour and likeability into this film, without him this really would have been terrible. Some of the CGI is patchy in parts and the final fight scene is overwhelming due to the sheer amount of CGI going on. There's some dodgy editing and an even dodgier script, and the ending feels rather rushed. Riz Ahmed is a great actor but vastly underused, and to echo every other reviews Michelle Williams is absolutely awful. She contributed nothing other than major irritation for the entire film.
I'm not a massive comic person but do recall Venom from comics and some of the earlier Spiderman cartoons, and I'm actually fairly impressed with this origin story and how Venom has been portrayed. Let's face it, they couldn't get much worse than what came out in Spiderman 3. Whilst this film has a lot of faults, it's still very entertaining.
I do wish they'd given this a proper Marvel film though. It already comes across as quite dark, and I think this could've been fantastic had they given it a Deadpool type makeover.
Andy K (10823 KP) rated Pet Sematary (2019) in Movies
Nov 30, 2019 (Updated Nov 30, 2019)
I don't read
I don't watch a lot of remakes, especially horror remakes, especially modern horror remakes, but on the advice of a friend, I thought I would give it a try.
If you want to start an argument with me, please say the book is better simply because it is different the film. I double dare you. Books and movies are different mediums, therefore, certain elements may lend themselves to one medium better than the other. Did you really want to see young Beverly Marsh have an orgy with the other It kids right after their conquest of Pennywise (or something like that)? I didn't think so. Sometimes changing things is all right and not automatically bad just because it is different!
OK got that off my chest! 😌
So it was 80-90% the same as the 1989 version? That was all right with me this time around. The acting and use of modern CGI effects were good and fit this film well. The CGI was not overused, so my usual complaint about that is unfounded this time. The major plot change for this film I felt was a great idea and kept the audience confused as to them already thinking they knew what was going to happen during that one particular scene.
The ending was somewhat gruesome, but this is a horror movie after all so I enjoyed it.
If you want to start an argument with me, please say the book is better simply because it is different the film. I double dare you. Books and movies are different mediums, therefore, certain elements may lend themselves to one medium better than the other. Did you really want to see young Beverly Marsh have an orgy with the other It kids right after their conquest of Pennywise (or something like that)? I didn't think so. Sometimes changing things is all right and not automatically bad just because it is different!
OK got that off my chest! 😌
So it was 80-90% the same as the 1989 version? That was all right with me this time around. The acting and use of modern CGI effects were good and fit this film well. The CGI was not overused, so my usual complaint about that is unfounded this time. The major plot change for this film I felt was a great idea and kept the audience confused as to them already thinking they knew what was going to happen during that one particular scene.
The ending was somewhat gruesome, but this is a horror movie after all so I enjoyed it.
Tim McGuire (301 KP) rated The Call Of The Wild (2020) in Movies
Mar 14, 2020
402. The Call of the Wild. The tale of a CGI dog named Buck. With its all too human eyes, and unrealistic facial expressions, Buck is the main character, he doesn't speak, for that we have Harrison Ford narrating, then later becomes a character, John Thornton. Buck is the mayors dog, and everyone loves him for his all too human ways, but danger lurks. In the Yukon there's a dog shortage?? Ok then, Buck gets kidnapped, beaten into submission, in a Disney way, don't worry. Luckily tho, Buck is purchased by a super nice postal worker, Perrault and partner Francois who needs him on his sled, and at this point we realize there must be a dog shortage, because the CGI dogs he has are rough, missing eyes, ears, old as Walk Disney's decapitated head waiting to be reborn with a trillion bucks in the bank! Buck becomes lean and tough, learns to be part of a team and ultimately lead that team! And when that job dries up, Buck meets John Thornton, a sad kinda guy, suffering from a huge loss in the past he can't move past. John saves Buck from another dog sled operator, who seems to be hellbent on going on a suicide mission. The two become the best of friends going on grand adventure off the map, and showing Buck his true place in the world! Filmbufftim on FB
Sarah (7800 KP) rated Gemini Man (2019) in Movies
Jun 22, 2020
Another lacklustre Smith film
I feel a little sorry for Will Smith. He had some big hits back in the day but with the exception of Concussion, most of his recent efforts have been pretty poor. And sadly Gemini Man is no exception.
This didn’t appeal when it came out at the cinema, but as it’s now on Sky Cinema I figured I may as well give it go... and it turned out to be the longest and dullest action film I’ve seen in a long time. The action scenes are pretty decent in all fairness and has some impressive fight choreography (without the dodgy shaky cam that rubbish choreography is plagued by). The CGI is good in parts and the younger version of Will Smith is well done, although some of this CGI does look a bit dodgy when it gets a little close up. The overall look of the film though is quite good and there is some good cinematography but it does give off a premium tv show feel rather than a proper film.
The rest of this film though is rather poor. The script is terrible and the entire thing is very lacklustre and dull, I’ve never seen an action film so boring before. Even the plot feels like it’s been done many times before (except for the clone thing) and isn’t anything new. So glad I didn't watch this at the cinema as I probably would’ve fallen asleep.
This didn’t appeal when it came out at the cinema, but as it’s now on Sky Cinema I figured I may as well give it go... and it turned out to be the longest and dullest action film I’ve seen in a long time. The action scenes are pretty decent in all fairness and has some impressive fight choreography (without the dodgy shaky cam that rubbish choreography is plagued by). The CGI is good in parts and the younger version of Will Smith is well done, although some of this CGI does look a bit dodgy when it gets a little close up. The overall look of the film though is quite good and there is some good cinematography but it does give off a premium tv show feel rather than a proper film.
The rest of this film though is rather poor. The script is terrible and the entire thing is very lacklustre and dull, I’ve never seen an action film so boring before. Even the plot feels like it’s been done many times before (except for the clone thing) and isn’t anything new. So glad I didn't watch this at the cinema as I probably would’ve fallen asleep.
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated 47 Meters Down: Uncaged (2019) in Movies
May 7, 2020
47 Meters Down: Uncaged is pretty much what you would expect from a low budget shark-horror-sequel. It has ok moments, insufferable characters, dodgy CGI, buckets of nonsense - the whole package.
In all honesty, the first 25 minutes or so are actually half decent. The plot revolves around four friends getting stuck in an underwater Mayan ruin whilst cave diving. This setting is effective, providing a claustrophobic backdrop for the characters to be stalked by a great white shark. There are countless shots of sheer blackness, and it's relatively unsettling now and again.
Of course there's a hastily introduced plot kicker not long after - the shark is in fact blind, and hunts using sound, and here is where the movies big gaping issues lie....
The ladies figure this detail out immediately, but then proceed to constantly scream and shout for the test of the runtime. Not only can they hear each other talking clear as day UNDERWATER, but their incessant warbling had me rooting for the shark before long. What starts as a fairly tense underwater thriller, devolves into Hollywood silliness in a matter of minutes, complete with a set of characters that lack any relatability or likable qualities.
The sharks themselves look ok when shrouded in darkness (there are a few creepy shots, and a few fairly good jump scares), but up close, the poor CGI is easily exposed.
It's not a terrible, but you're not missing out if you give this one a pass.
In all honesty, the first 25 minutes or so are actually half decent. The plot revolves around four friends getting stuck in an underwater Mayan ruin whilst cave diving. This setting is effective, providing a claustrophobic backdrop for the characters to be stalked by a great white shark. There are countless shots of sheer blackness, and it's relatively unsettling now and again.
Of course there's a hastily introduced plot kicker not long after - the shark is in fact blind, and hunts using sound, and here is where the movies big gaping issues lie....
The ladies figure this detail out immediately, but then proceed to constantly scream and shout for the test of the runtime. Not only can they hear each other talking clear as day UNDERWATER, but their incessant warbling had me rooting for the shark before long. What starts as a fairly tense underwater thriller, devolves into Hollywood silliness in a matter of minutes, complete with a set of characters that lack any relatability or likable qualities.
The sharks themselves look ok when shrouded in darkness (there are a few creepy shots, and a few fairly good jump scares), but up close, the poor CGI is easily exposed.
It's not a terrible, but you're not missing out if you give this one a pass.