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Dean (6926 KP) rated The Rite (2011) in Movies

Feb 10, 2018  
The Rite (2011)
The Rite (2011)
2011 | Drama, Mystery
Ah The Rite.......that seemed to get a few things wrong! It starts a little bit slow, and not particularly interesting. At first it seems to be something that should be taken seriously, based on true events, and it almost has a documentary feel to it. It the latter stages it does finally liven up a bit, largely due to the presence of Anthony Hopkins. Unfortunately some of the action scenes and CGI push it back into the horror realm. If it could stick to one of those paths, serious film or all out horror it would have been much better. Not a bad film but I hoped for something a bit different.
  
Young Sherlock Holmes (1985)
Young Sherlock Holmes (1985)
1985 | Action, Drama, Horror
Great family adventure film (0 more)
The games a foot!
A great all too little known film from '86. Set in Sherlock Holmes school days setting the story background as he becomes the worlds most famous detective. I remember seeing this at the cinema and it is just the sort of film full of action and adventure everyone should love. Steven Spielberg was involved in the production and it shows. This film has a feel to it like the Mummy and Indiana Jones films. It also has some very good SFX for the time, including very early use of cgi. If you have missed this film then you are missing out, track it down!
  
The Mummy (1999)
The Mummy (1999)
1999 | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
This version of The Mummy is one of my favorite films. I love period films with archaeology/adventure in them, so this movie was perfect for me. Brendan Fraser is so amusing and does a great job as O'Connell, and I love Rachel Weisz as Evie. Yes, this film was based off of the original 'The Mummy' with Boris Karloff, but it didn't bother me at all. Watching it now, some of the special effects look pretty lame. I wish they would remaster and fix the CGI in this film and the Mummy Returns, because it's somewhat cringe-worthy. I still watch this movie all the time, and I'll continue to re-watch it over and over again.
  
It (2017)
It (2017)
2017 | Drama, Horror
7
7.9 (355 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Acting (1 more)
Atmosphere
Not scary (2 more)
Not even the jump scares
Some iffy CGI
I wanted to see this film after I read the book in October. And for a film adaptation, it wasn’t half bad. Sure there were things obviously different from the books and they have set it out differently to the book. But all things considered, I enjoyed watching it. I just felt that for a horror film, it wasn’t that scary- not even the jump scares and Pennywise- he is legit scary in the book. Also, I thought the film would have been better if they kept some elements from the book in the film too, like Maturin. On another plus side, the acting was done well.
  
Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)
Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)
2011 | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
Great reboot of a great franchise
As usual, when I first heard they were going to remake one of my all time favorite franchises, I was very concerned especially after the weird Tim Burton version.

I could not have been more wrong. The entire tone of the film was magnificent and very much in line with the intent of the original series. There were many homages to the earlier films, but also plenty of new stuff including the amazing CGI work animating the Apes and giving them personality.

The ending sequence on the bridge was also spectacular and set up the transition to the next film quite well.

  
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019)
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019)
2019 | Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Great SFX (1 more)
Amazing sets, costumes and character design
Not quite as good as the first film (0 more)
A very good sequel
A very good sequel to the first film. It's a very pretty film to watch with a lot of good cgi effects for the various kingdoms, creatures and sets, which look great. The cast is good with Pfeiffer stealing the show. It does introduce a lot of new characters and some from the first film have much smaller roles this time out. It's very enjoyable if a little bit predictable and maybe not with a grand ending. Still well worth catching at the cinema even if it's not quite as spellbinding as the first one.
  
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365Flicks (235 KP) rated The Mandalorian in TV

Nov 18, 2019  
The Mandalorian
The Mandalorian
2019 | Sci-Fi
Direction (3 more)
Epic feeling
It’s Star Wars dude
Mandalorian
Easily the best Star Wars Live action project since Return of the Jedi
I Am sooooo happy to be reporting back positive on this TV show. Since Disney bought Lucasfilm they have missed more often than hit. But so far the Mandalorian is a smash hit.

It feels grand, epic and it captures the very essence of A New Hope the darkness of Empire Strikes Back and everything we love about our favourite Space Western. The blend of CGI and practical is effortless the music of this show is as much a character as the titular Mandalorian.

I love this show, long may this continue and Disney don’t screw it up!!!
  
Funky Forest: The First Contact (2005)
Funky Forest: The First Contact (2005)
2005 | Comedy
(0 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"Funky Forest. It’s a Japanese movie. It’s kind of like a patchwork film, kind of like Kuso is, in a way. I think it was heavily influential in just like, “OK well, it doesn’t all have to be … It can feel more like a short film, but in the same world, in an absurd world.” I think it was really, really inspiring for me. It had a lot of body comedy in that movie, a lot of really cool prosthetic effects that mixed with CGI, I think. It’s one of the movies where people will just be like, “What the f— is this? What is this?” And it’s not perfect movie, but it is, at times, perfect."

Source
  
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Ducklady (1174 KP) rated Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019) in Movies

Aug 29, 2019 (Updated Aug 29, 2019)  
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019)
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019)
2019 | Horror
Fantastic monsters (0 more)
Ended up being predictable (0 more)
Started off well and the actors were great
It starts off with another set of "loser club" like kids. They were a pretty decent set of actors although their characters make some questionable decisions (but dont all characters in horror). The monsters were so well-made and didn't rely heavily on CGI which was really fantastic.
The ending was very predictable and the scares got lost and folky tales got completely lost.
Now im gonna have to read the book and hope that the sarah bellows storyline was made up for the movie, as that was weird and didn't quite cut it for a background story.
  
Jungle Cruise (2021)
Jungle Cruise (2021)
2021 | Adventure
A Ton of Fun - Reminiscent of the first PIRATES film
Are you looking for a family friendly action/adventure/comedy that will be good entertainment for the entire family? Then look no further than the Disney Live Action film JUNGLE BOOK.

Yes…Disney has made another movie based on one of it’s them park rides and this one is more like the first PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN film than most of the other attempts.

Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra (several Liam Neeson action flicks like NON-STOP), JUNGLE CRUISE is part PIRATES, part INDIANA JONES and part AFRICAN QUEEN (look it up, kids) as we follow an adventurous young lady in the 1910’s. She heads to the Amazon and hires a ne’er do well Jungle Cruise skipper to take her up river.

Pretty standard set-up, right? We’ve seen this “mis-matched” frenemies premise before but in the hands of Emily Blunt and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, it is a very entertaining (albeit familiar) ride with 2 tremendously charismatic performers working off each other very well and they look like they are having as good a time in this film as we are.

They are joined by a bevy of assorted characters that help fill out this journey. Edgar Ramirez and Veronica Falcon are enjoyable enough as a couple of characters along the way, while Jack Whitehall surprised the heck out of me as the wimpy brother to Blunt’s character who becomes more and more three dimensional as the film progressed - something I didn’t think this film would even think about doing.

A pair of wiley veterans - Jesse Plemons and good ol’ Paul Giamatti - are also on board and each add some (but not a lot) to this film. Plemons is the main villain and he just wasn’t villainous enough for my tastes while I wanted much, much more of Giamatti’s character than was in this film (and it is a rare film, indeed, that you are left wanting more with a Giamatti character).

But make no mistake, this is a Rock and Blunt flick and these two professionals hold the center of this film together very, very well.

Director Collet-Serra keeps the action (and comedy) moving along at about the right pace, never dwelling too long on any of the plot points (for if you were to think too much about any of it, it would fall apart) and (for the most part) keeps the action sequences fun and coherent and avoiding over-directing, over-CGI-ing and over-loading these sequences.

Speaking of CGI, the main issue with this film is the special effects work - it is not the best (probably a budget issue) and, at times, you really need to suspend disbelief in watching the CGI and convincing yourself that it is a Live Action film you are watching and not a cartoon.

But, since the intended audience for this film are families, the less-than-perfect CGI (at times) is forgivable as JUNGLE CRUISE provides plenty of PG-Rated action and fun that the entire family will enjoy.

Letter Grade: A-

8 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)