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Andy K (10821 KP) rated Black Panther (2018) in Movies

Jun 23, 2018 (Updated Jun 23, 2018)  
Black Panther (2018)
Black Panther (2018)
2018 | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
Where was the action?
Being late to the party as usual, I just finished watching this film for the first time tonight.

I can't believe how well this movie did at the box office compared to the actual quality of the film. You'll never say a MCU doesn't look beautiful, have gorgeous sets, costumes and good casting, but that is just not enough these days.

Being completely unfamiliar with the Black Panther comics I was going in cold, but it seemed like some of the characters just weren't that interesting or had any place to go. There were extended periods within the film where not much happens and I felt bored. Some of the CGI was also sketchy at best.

I have been on record being not the biggest MCU fan in general and if this is the highest grossing of all of them, that just isn't right.

I guess I should watch Infinity War now.
  
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SunnyD (6 KP) rated It (2017) in Movies

Aug 26, 2018  
It (2017)
It (2017)
2017 | Drama, Horror
7
7.9 (355 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Creepier than the original (1 more)
Acting
Weird CGI (1 more)
Still not scary
Competes well with the original
I was a fan of the original despite the horror themes being laughable. It's a classic, you know? I had high hopes for this updated version. My biggest expection was that the producers make it actually scary, mainly making Pennywise scarier. I waited to see this because I was skeptical about this being achieved. Because I did wait till it was out on DVD/Blueray, I was influenced by the media's opinion of it. Needless to say, Kate McKinnon as Pennywise was hilarious. My hopes for this movie being scarier than it's original version were squashed, but I was now more motivated to see it. No, it isn't much scarier than the original, but it was really well done aside from some obviously CGIed moments. Superior cinematography did achieve a creepier movie. The acting was great. Overall, this was done much better than the original, actually.
  
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Ross (3284 KP) rated Aquaman (2018) in Movies

Jan 4, 2019  
Aquaman (2018)
Aquaman (2018)
2018 | Action, Sci-Fi
By far and away, this is the best of the recent DC movies (though I haven't seen Wonder Woman). There is much more humour injected into it, that it finally feels like they've got something to rival Marvel films. It really feels like a normal, decent superhero film.
However, I didn't much like Jason Momoa and thought he lacked the personality to carry the role off and really needed Amber Heard to inject some life into scenes.
A fun enjoyable film but I'm not sure the final battle scene was necessary - why does every superhero film have to lead up to an epic battle these days? While the CGI made this visually stunning, I felt it was totally unnecessary.
And finally, I was so glad when Aquaman's mum's "trident" is broken in the initial challenge for the throne - it had 5 prongs so every time someone referred to it as a trident I wanted to scream.
  
Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)
Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)
2019 | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
The Titans Squaring off (0 more)
Rubbish Storyline Cheesy lines The Human Characters (0 more)
The King Deserved Better
Was looking to forward to this next chapter in the Godzilla movies but alas bar one or two good things about it the majority of this film was poor.

My main criticism is for the human characters all fell flat.You couldn't really care about them,it seemed their only purpose in the film was to go on about their scientific theories or make crass jokes (can't pronounce one of the monsters names so let's call it gonorrhea instead) and is it just me or was millie bobby brown just plain annoying.They could have made Charles Dance bad guy a little more bladder,he just seemed to polite for my liking.

The CGI was good in parts with the final showdown between godzilla and ghidorah being the best of the titans fighting each other.

I really hope they improve things for the next installment in the series when godzilla faces kong.
  
Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween (2018)
Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween (2018)
2018 | Adventure, Comedy, Family
Inoffensive and forgettable
When I saw the first Goosebumps film, I'd been pleasantly surprised and loved it a lot more than I'd expected. Sadly the trailer for this follow up didnt look great, and I'm afraid to say the reality is rather disappointing too.

This is basically your run of the mill "scary" kids film. There was nothing particularly scary about it, the laughs were dull and predictable and even the blink and you'll miss it return of Jack Black's RL Stine isnt enough to make this film entertaining. Slappy is a great character and could be quite creepy, but in this they've really missed the mark. The ventriloquist dummies from Toy Story 4 were scarier than him! The CGI was quite dodgy at times too. The blessing with this film is that it's very short, and whilst it's not great it's still entertaining enough to keep you watching for the 90 minutes, it's just a very poor follow up to the surprising hit of the first.
  
Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)
Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)
2019 | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Shame about the humans
This film felt like it slipped in and out of cinemas here with very little attention drawn to it. Blink and you'll miss it, and I barely even remember the trailer either. Having now seen the film, I can see why it's pretty forgettable.

The main enjoyment in this film comes from the monster battles. Whenever the monsters are fighting each other on screen, it's hugely entertaining and these fights are impressively done. It's just a shame that Godzilla seems fairly lacking on screen until the finale, and that some of the CGI is patchy in parts. The humans are the biggest annoyance in this film. There's a great cast in this but they're let down by a cheesy script and a rather silly plot with a few gaps in the science & logic. And the ending is an obvious set up to yet another sequel.

Overly it was vaguely entertaining but dragged whenever the monsters weren't on screen, and ultimately a little forgettable.
  
Cube Zero (2004)
Cube Zero (2004)
2004 | Horror, Sci-Fi
7
6.4 (9 Ratings)
Movie Rating
An interesting prequel
After the very lacklustre and ridiculous sequel Cube 2: Hypercube, Cube Zero is a breath of fresh air. I’m usually very much against prequels as they tend to over explain and try too hard, erasing any mystery. Fortunately I found that for the most part Cube Zero doesn’t go down the route that most prequels do. Yes it explains a few things and elaborates more on the reasons and origins behind the cube, but not to the point that it erases all intrigue. The ending too and how it relates back to the original i found rather satisfying.

I’m grateful that they’ve gone back to basics with this too. Gone is the over the top CGI and instead the wonderfully gory traps and physical effects are back, and some of the gore in this is rather impressive. Whilst I don’t think it’s as good as the original, it’s definitely very close.
  
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Matthew Fox recommended Blade Runner (1982) in Movies (curated)

 
Blade Runner (1982)
Blade Runner (1982)
1982 | Sci-Fi
8.5 (75 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"Blade Runner goes down as one of my favorite movies and I have to watch it every opportunity that I get to watch it; and it seems to me that every single time I watch it, I discover something that I never knew was there. I mean, the fact that that movie was close to 30 years ago, it’s absolutely astounding. I actually watched it recently again and — you look at it now and it’s just — the set design and the way that thing is shot, it feels… it’s absolutely amazing. You can’t say that of some movies. Like, if you go back and watch Alien — the first Alien — it looks dated now. It really does, because of how much technology is moving forward and the kinds of things that are being done onscreen because of CGI. But if you go back and watch Blade Runner, it’s incredible how well it’s held up over time. It’s amazing."

Source
  
Stung (2015)
Stung (2015)
2015 | Horror
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Movie Rating
If you're looking for an entertaining as hell, throwback creature feature, then look no further.

Stung is a perfectly imperfect B-Movie horror about some mutated wasps causing havoc at a garden party, leading to giant mutated wasps bursting out of various party guests, hell bent on feasting on any survivors. It's really really silly, but manages to be frequently funny, impressively gory, and shamelessly schlocky.

It has two likable protagonists in Matt O'Leary and Jessica Cook, and it's a nice surprise to see that Lance Henriksen wasn't just a cameo. It's let down a little by some dodgy CGI, but a lot of the gory scenes are practical, and a lot of the action takes place at night, so the effects aren't too much of an eyesore.

Stung is a straight up trashy good time, and the often used Wilhelm scream gets given to a wasp, which is low key hilarious, and absolutely slayed me, so bonus points there.
  
Dead Ant (2017)
Dead Ant (2017)
2017 | Comedy, Horror
6
5.5 (2 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Let's get the obvious out of the way first...the CGI giant ants, or course, look awful...but honestly, if one can look beyond that, Dead Ant is a genuinely funny and entertaining B-Movie blast.

It has a cast that's not to be sniffed at - Sean Astin, Tom Arnold, Jake Busey, Danny Woodburn, Twin Peaks legend Michael Horse, Sydney Sweeney, Entourage's Rhys Coiro - not too shabby for a low budget creature feature.
It's screenplay is constantly humourous, and everyone involved seems like they're having a good time.
As mentioned, the special effects are bargain bin level, but I don't know, that sort of adds to the whole experience.

I might just be a sucker for heavy metal themed comedies, but Dead Ant is a perfectly fine way to spend 90 minutes, and the song "Sideboob" from the movies fictional band Sonic Grave is now on one of my Spotify playlists 🤘