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Rodney Barnes (472 KP) rated Wonder Woman 1984 (2020) in Movies
Jan 18, 2021
Not a Good Follow Up
Contains spoilers, click to show
Wonder Woman 84....wow. This was not a very good follow up to the first Wonder Woman movie. For me, there just was not enough Wonder Woman and the story was slow moving. Even the evolution of Cheetah, of which she was never referred to as that, was slow too. The way that Steve Trevor returned was odd to me and kind of silly. Pedro Pascal is a great actor but the villain he played seemed to be too much of the stereotypical old mustache twirling, monologing type of villain. He was not very compelling to me. Kristen Wiig did an excellent job at her character but I did not like the Cheetah angle. This movie under achieved royally in my opinion. At this point I don't know what is going in the DC movie verse but this movie is not a good part of it. I really like Patty Jenkins. I hope the next movie will overshadow this one.
Dawn Marie (22 KP) rated Wonder Woman (2017) in Movies
Oct 27, 2018 (Updated Oct 27, 2018)
Dc best movie to date
I have been a fan of wonder woman since I was a little girl. I would sit in front of the tv watching Linda Carter go from Diana to wonder woman with a spin. When I first heard that a movie was definitely happening I was happy but real leary. When gal gadot was cast I was one who just didn't see how she could be diana, but the more I saw for her own movie the more I was on board. This movie was everything it should of been (just wish Lynda Carter would of had a cameo or something) all the characters were likable and the scenes with the amazons were amazing. If there was any flaw I would have to say Ares did not look as good as he could of. Chris pine was great and him and gadot had great chemistry. I am hoping the sequel which will take place in 1984( when I was 9) will be just as good. DC should take a look at this and use what made this good into all their love action movies
David McK (3175 KP) rated Star Trek Beyond (2016) in Movies
Mar 6, 2021
Space ... the Final frontier ...
The latest (at the time of reviewing) Star Trek film - from 5 years ago, so 2016 - this is the third film to be set in the so-called Kelvin Universe (after 'Star Trek' and 'Star Trek: Into Darkness'), still starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg, John Cho and (the late) Anton Yelchin as Kirk, Spock, 'Bones' McCoy, Lt Uhura, Scotty, Sulu and Chekov respectively.
This time around, Idris Elba plays the baddie role as a character who later proves to have a surprising link with The Federation, with the film also apparently including 50 new alien species as it was released in the year of the 50th anniversary of the TV series.
And therein lies part of the problem: that was hardly broadcast at all - indeed, I feel that they missed a major trick in not broadcasting that fact at all!
While the loose outline of the plot deals with ageing, and with a farewell given to Ambassador Spock, this is perfectly serviceable but not as good as the original film in the Kelvin trilogy (IMO).
This time around, Idris Elba plays the baddie role as a character who later proves to have a surprising link with The Federation, with the film also apparently including 50 new alien species as it was released in the year of the 50th anniversary of the TV series.
And therein lies part of the problem: that was hardly broadcast at all - indeed, I feel that they missed a major trick in not broadcasting that fact at all!
While the loose outline of the plot deals with ageing, and with a farewell given to Ambassador Spock, this is perfectly serviceable but not as good as the original film in the Kelvin trilogy (IMO).
Awix (3310 KP) rated Wonder Woman 1984 (2020) in Movies
Dec 17, 2020
The first big superhero movie of the summer arrives - if you're in Australia, anyway. (Cheers, 2020.) The setting has been updated to the mid 1980s, which in no way resembles the present day, of course: Wonder Woman must enter the White House and do battle with a failed businessman, TV personality and con man who has stolen the power of the US presidency. Of course there's a bit more going on to dress this up and stop the cute-little-red-cap crowd from getting pouty and boycotting it, but that's the most striking element of the plot - interesting to see a blockbuster with a political edge to it, even if that edge is somewhat disguised.
Apart from that, this is a good, slick, lively blockbuster, very colourful and with a nicely positive outlook to it. Some of the characterisation perhaps undercuts the film's feminist agenda - Wonder Woman's chief character point is that she's sad because she's got no boyfriend, while assistant villain Cheetah's big issue is basically being jealous of women who can walk in heels - and Chris Pine is an absence of hiatus, as usual, but in every respect this is a decent blockbuster.
Apart from that, this is a good, slick, lively blockbuster, very colourful and with a nicely positive outlook to it. Some of the characterisation perhaps undercuts the film's feminist agenda - Wonder Woman's chief character point is that she's sad because she's got no boyfriend, while assistant villain Cheetah's big issue is basically being jealous of women who can walk in heels - and Chris Pine is an absence of hiatus, as usual, but in every respect this is a decent blockbuster.
Fred (860 KP) rated Wonder Woman (2017) in Movies
Mar 26, 2018
Gal Gadot is great (1 more)
Chris Pine is great too
Boring (3 more)
Main villain is horrible
Story is terrible
Low on action
Wonder why it's such a hit.
After seeing Wonder Woman in what was the best part of the Batman/Superman movie, I was all pumped to see her in her own film. Unfortunately, DC is just not very good with superhero movies. And Wonder Woman is no exception. People were somehow blown away by Wonder Woman & I strain my brain trying to think why. It is boring. Very boring. So boring I was wishing that Superman would appear to fight Batman in the movie. Yes, that boring. I found myself not caring for anyone in the movie, WW included. Although she was great in the role, the character itself was uninteresting. Hell, we don't even see Wonder Woman until an hour into the movie & then it's a 2 minute action scene. Granted, that 2 minutes in awesome, but I can watch that on Youtube, and I would even put up with the 1 minute Youtube commercial just to see it. But the main problem of the movie is the story. The villain & his plot, which I couldn't remember what it was about if I wanted to. A very forgetful climax scene & we got a total mess.
Darren (1599 KP) rated Z For Zachariah (2015) in Movies
Jul 6, 2019
Director: Craig Zobel
Writer: Nissar Modi (Screenplay) Robert C O’Brien (Novel)
Starring: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Margot Robbie, Chris Pine
Plot: In the wake of a disaster that wipes out most of civilization, two men and a young woman find themselves in an emotionally charged love triangle as the last known survivors.
Tagline – What remains after the world ends?..
Runtime: 1 Hour 36 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Starts Promising, Ends Slow
Story: Z for Zachariah starts as Ann (Robbie) goes about her daily routine in a disaster hit world, living on a farm with her dog, she does everything she can just to survive, until she sees a stranger wondering through the mountain range, John (Ejiofor) who was underground during the incident.
Ann and John start trying to put a life together using his knowledge of engineering to help with the work around the farm until another stranger, a miner Caleb (Pine) turns up on the land, which starts to create a new problem, a love triangle.
Thoughts on Z for Zachariah
Characters – Ann is a farm girl that has been with just her dog since the incident that has wiped out most of the population, she is keeps the land together preparing for the harsh winters which she barely made it through before, she does have the lonely feeling until she meet John and Caleb who help show her life after people. John I a scientist who was underground when the incident happened, he decides to come to the surface in search of a life up there, which sees him stumble into Ann’s land, the two might have difference of opinions when it comes to religion and science, but they do try to help make a life together, he uses his skills to help make the farm work easier. Caleb is a miner that ends up on the land, he becomes competition for John in search for attention from Ann, being much more laidback about life and where it will go next.
Performances – The performances are the highlight of this film, Margot Robbie, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Chris Pine all give us wonderful performances, showing the difficult moments they would have been through in this world, we see guilt and hope coming through strong through the performances.
Story – The story follows three people living in a world destroyed by an incident (which we never learn what it is) that has left most of the population dead, with most of land being unliveable and then we get thrown into a love triangle. The side of the story that explores the world that has been through an incident because we start to explore what could have caused it taking science version religion, as soon as we start getting to the love triangle things just get dragged down because we don’t need this, as we do have the complex side to the story already in place.
Sci-Fi – The world that we enter shows us the sci-fi side of the film by seeing just how difficult surviving would be in this world, only it would be nice to have learnt what happened to cause the incident.
Settings – The film does take us to a beautiful location which give us stunning shots, making it a lovely place to live in a world like this.
Scene of the Movie – The water system.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Not learning what has happened to the world.
Final Thoughts – This is a film that starts so well, only to fall into a bland love triangle which only drags all the potential away from this story.
Overall: Doesn’t live up to potential.
Rating
Writer: Nissar Modi (Screenplay) Robert C O’Brien (Novel)
Starring: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Margot Robbie, Chris Pine
Plot: In the wake of a disaster that wipes out most of civilization, two men and a young woman find themselves in an emotionally charged love triangle as the last known survivors.
Tagline – What remains after the world ends?..
Runtime: 1 Hour 36 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Starts Promising, Ends Slow
Story: Z for Zachariah starts as Ann (Robbie) goes about her daily routine in a disaster hit world, living on a farm with her dog, she does everything she can just to survive, until she sees a stranger wondering through the mountain range, John (Ejiofor) who was underground during the incident.
Ann and John start trying to put a life together using his knowledge of engineering to help with the work around the farm until another stranger, a miner Caleb (Pine) turns up on the land, which starts to create a new problem, a love triangle.
Thoughts on Z for Zachariah
Characters – Ann is a farm girl that has been with just her dog since the incident that has wiped out most of the population, she is keeps the land together preparing for the harsh winters which she barely made it through before, she does have the lonely feeling until she meet John and Caleb who help show her life after people. John I a scientist who was underground when the incident happened, he decides to come to the surface in search of a life up there, which sees him stumble into Ann’s land, the two might have difference of opinions when it comes to religion and science, but they do try to help make a life together, he uses his skills to help make the farm work easier. Caleb is a miner that ends up on the land, he becomes competition for John in search for attention from Ann, being much more laidback about life and where it will go next.
Performances – The performances are the highlight of this film, Margot Robbie, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Chris Pine all give us wonderful performances, showing the difficult moments they would have been through in this world, we see guilt and hope coming through strong through the performances.
Story – The story follows three people living in a world destroyed by an incident (which we never learn what it is) that has left most of the population dead, with most of land being unliveable and then we get thrown into a love triangle. The side of the story that explores the world that has been through an incident because we start to explore what could have caused it taking science version religion, as soon as we start getting to the love triangle things just get dragged down because we don’t need this, as we do have the complex side to the story already in place.
Sci-Fi – The world that we enter shows us the sci-fi side of the film by seeing just how difficult surviving would be in this world, only it would be nice to have learnt what happened to cause the incident.
Settings – The film does take us to a beautiful location which give us stunning shots, making it a lovely place to live in a world like this.
Scene of the Movie – The water system.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Not learning what has happened to the world.
Final Thoughts – This is a film that starts so well, only to fall into a bland love triangle which only drags all the potential away from this story.
Overall: Doesn’t live up to potential.
Rating
Awix (3310 KP) rated Wonder Woman (2017) in Movies
Feb 10, 2018 (Updated Feb 10, 2018)
Would've liked to see the Invisible Plane. So to speak.
The world reacts with due amazement as a mysterious group of film-makers breaks into the offices of Warner Brothers and manages to produce a really good movie without Zack Snyder noticing. We can speculate all day about just how this happened, but my inclination personally is to not look a gift horse in the mouth and simply enjoy the best DC-based movie since Christopher Nolan parted company with Batman.
There's something very refreshing about the way laborious franchise concerns are firmly put on the back burner, and all the focus is kept on telling a good, strong story. The decision to change the setting to the First World War (apparently made to avoid comparisons with the first Captain America movie) proves to be a really smart one, giving the film its own tone and atmosphere, and the story is well-paced with great character development. It's now hard to imagine anyone other than Gal Gadot playing Wonder Woman, and even Chris Pine is not too annoying for once.
Watching Wonder Woman feels a bit like travelling back in time to a point when summer blockbusters were less calculated, grasping, and egregiously thick-headed. My advice to DC would be to give the security staff a nice long paid holiday and hope the makers of Wonder Woman come back and do it again.
There's something very refreshing about the way laborious franchise concerns are firmly put on the back burner, and all the focus is kept on telling a good, strong story. The decision to change the setting to the First World War (apparently made to avoid comparisons with the first Captain America movie) proves to be a really smart one, giving the film its own tone and atmosphere, and the story is well-paced with great character development. It's now hard to imagine anyone other than Gal Gadot playing Wonder Woman, and even Chris Pine is not too annoying for once.
Watching Wonder Woman feels a bit like travelling back in time to a point when summer blockbusters were less calculated, grasping, and egregiously thick-headed. My advice to DC would be to give the security staff a nice long paid holiday and hope the makers of Wonder Woman come back and do it again.
Sarah (7798 KP) rated Wonder Woman (2017) in Movies
Mar 16, 2018
OTT CGI (1 more)
Weak villain
Well it's definitely the best DC film so far...
Despite the rave reviews for this film, I hadn't been expecting much mainly as DC films of late haven't really been very good (excluding Nolan's of course). Wonder Woman is by far the best DC film out of the recent bunch, but I'm afraid that's all it really has going for it.
Gal Gadot is a good casting choice as Diana and she does very well. Chris Pine too is perhaps underused but fairly charismatic. I did wonder whether Ewen Bremner is required to play the same character in every film? Or he's sadly just been typecast.
The main issue with this film is the week villain and the ridiculous CGI. There was no real threat of anything from Ares and as with most other superhero films lately, he came across as a very boring and poor adversary. And he was made up of far too much CGI. The whole film really had too much CGI in general, too much slow motion and most of it looked a bit shoddy. Less is more! And the plot itself set within a world war all seemed very Captain America, which was done quite a long time ago now!
In all it was an alright superhero film, with a good female lead. I just wouldn't go out of my way to watch it again.
Gal Gadot is a good casting choice as Diana and she does very well. Chris Pine too is perhaps underused but fairly charismatic. I did wonder whether Ewen Bremner is required to play the same character in every film? Or he's sadly just been typecast.
The main issue with this film is the week villain and the ridiculous CGI. There was no real threat of anything from Ares and as with most other superhero films lately, he came across as a very boring and poor adversary. And he was made up of far too much CGI. The whole film really had too much CGI in general, too much slow motion and most of it looked a bit shoddy. Less is more! And the plot itself set within a world war all seemed very Captain America, which was done quite a long time ago now!
In all it was an alright superhero film, with a good female lead. I just wouldn't go out of my way to watch it again.
BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated Dungeons and Dragons: Honour Among Thieves (2023) in Movies
May 26, 2023
A Ton of Fun
The BankofMarquis is not into Dungeons & Dragons - the role playing/fantasy game that the film DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: HONOR AMONG THIEVES is based on, so any Easter Eggs for fans of the game is lost here. What the BankofMarquis is into is a good, fun action/adventure film and DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS: HONOR AMONG THIEVES is all that…and more.
The 4th film to be based on the RPG game, this D&D is no relation to the previous three and should be viewed as a reboot of the franchise…and if HONOR AMONG THIEVES is an indication of where this film series will go, then the audience is in for a fun ride, indeed.
Written and Directed by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, D&D follows a smooth talking, good-looking musician (the perfectly cast Chris Pine), his tough-as-nails best friend (the perfectly cast Michelle Rodriguez) and their merry band of thieves as they go on a quest to right wrongs and achieve a goal.
What that goal is doesn’t really matter as it is the journey - not the destination - that matters and the journey is quite fun thanks to an enjoyable cast and a script and direction that evokes memories of THE PRINCESS BRIDE, THE LORD OF THE RINGS and, yes, MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL along the way.
The cast (Pine, Rodriguez, Rege-Jean Page, Justice Smith, Sophia Lillis and Hugh Grant) know exactly what type of film they are making and jump in with both feet to have some fun, fight some creatures and make a family-friendly medieval action/adventure comedy that works.
Credit, of course, goes to Daley & Goldstein and this appears to be their first film together as Directors. If that is the case, the BankofMarquis is eager to see where they go from here.
While, I’m sure, there are plenty of Easter Eggs in this film for the D&D fan, the BankofMarquis caught none of that and just sat back and had a really fun 2+ hours, chuckling out loud on more than one occassion.
This film is now streaming on Paramount Plus. If you run across, check it out, you’ll have a good time.
Letter Grade: A-
8 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
The 4th film to be based on the RPG game, this D&D is no relation to the previous three and should be viewed as a reboot of the franchise…and if HONOR AMONG THIEVES is an indication of where this film series will go, then the audience is in for a fun ride, indeed.
Written and Directed by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, D&D follows a smooth talking, good-looking musician (the perfectly cast Chris Pine), his tough-as-nails best friend (the perfectly cast Michelle Rodriguez) and their merry band of thieves as they go on a quest to right wrongs and achieve a goal.
What that goal is doesn’t really matter as it is the journey - not the destination - that matters and the journey is quite fun thanks to an enjoyable cast and a script and direction that evokes memories of THE PRINCESS BRIDE, THE LORD OF THE RINGS and, yes, MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL along the way.
The cast (Pine, Rodriguez, Rege-Jean Page, Justice Smith, Sophia Lillis and Hugh Grant) know exactly what type of film they are making and jump in with both feet to have some fun, fight some creatures and make a family-friendly medieval action/adventure comedy that works.
Credit, of course, goes to Daley & Goldstein and this appears to be their first film together as Directors. If that is the case, the BankofMarquis is eager to see where they go from here.
While, I’m sure, there are plenty of Easter Eggs in this film for the D&D fan, the BankofMarquis caught none of that and just sat back and had a really fun 2+ hours, chuckling out loud on more than one occassion.
This film is now streaming on Paramount Plus. If you run across, check it out, you’ll have a good time.
Letter Grade: A-
8 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
Chris Sawin (602 KP) rated Carriers (2009) in Movies
Jun 20, 2019
Brian and Danny grew up as two brothers who were relatively close to one another. They cherish the memories they have of Turtle Beach, a beach their family vacationed to every summer. The abandoned motel in Turtle Beach may be their best bet of surviving the highly contagious disease that now plagues the entire country and possibly the world. Not much is known about the virus other than the victims coughing up blood and bleeding from the ears as their condition worsens. Brian actually came up with a few rules that will hopefully get him, his girlfriend Bobby, his brother Danny, and Danny's friend Kate through this disease ridden world to Turtle Beach clean. The rules include avoiding the infected at all costs, disinfecting anything they've touched in the past 24 hours, and that the infected are already dead as there is no cure. You may survive if you stick to the rules, but actually abiding by them is an entirely different story.
Right off the bat, people are probably going to compare Carriers to Zombieland because of the rules. Carriers was released a full month before Zombieland, but Paramount Vantage folded upon its initial release causing its wide release to be an extremely limited one at the last minute (I think it wound up playing at only two theaters in the country). Expectations rise unintentionally in situations such as this. "This is that horror film that was practically shelved earlier this year and is finally being released." The result is a horror film that is well worth watching, but may not be entirely what you're expecting.
Carriers is more about establishing an atmosphere than anything else. Everything is abandoned and rightfully so as most people were picked off handfuls at a time by this pandemic. The entire film is more like the first half hour of 28 Days Later where Jim wakes up in an abandoned hospital and realizes how empty the streets of London are. There aren't masses of the infected running around lusting for brains or wanting to tear humans apart in Carriers. The story follows these four friends as they journey across the country to this supposed sanctuary where they hope to tough it out until this disease runs its course. Carriers is more of a slow burn as things turn from bad to worse very slowly and snowball as the film goes on.
Chris Pine is really the drawing factor of the film. His role as Brian is kind of like a more intense version of his role as Kirk in Star Trek from earlier this year. Brian comes off as an inconsiderate prick the first half of the film and seems to only do things that benefit himself. The second half is where his character gets interesting though. The speech he gives Danny about their parents and telling Danny that he only told him what he wanted to hear is the turning point for Brian. Chris Pine shines as things begin to roll downhill for Brian as his emotions take center stage and his true demeanor is revealed.
Everything else in the film pretty much feels like routine manuevers when it comes to films revolving around viral outbreaks as some main characters contract the disease, they resort to drastic measures to survive, and begin to question their humanity along the way. The most disappointing part of the film is the ending as things just seem to kind of stop without much of a resolution. It seems like films like this either end this way or have a really depressing ending and that's its biggest flaw. Movie buffs who have seen films concerning pandemics already have a rough idea of how the film is going to end and it's about time to mix that up a bit. There's got to be a decent way to end the film that offers something a bit different that could wrap everything up until that point, but also leave enough room open for a sequel if need be.
Carriers may be a bit slow at first and doesn't really offer anything you probably haven't seen before in a film like this, but is still worth seeing for Chris Pine's performance. It's kind of a more serious take on Zombieland without actual zombies running or stumbling around with an atmosphere similar to the one established in Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later. If you're a fan of films involving a virus that has wiped out most of the human population, then this is still worth a watch.
Right off the bat, people are probably going to compare Carriers to Zombieland because of the rules. Carriers was released a full month before Zombieland, but Paramount Vantage folded upon its initial release causing its wide release to be an extremely limited one at the last minute (I think it wound up playing at only two theaters in the country). Expectations rise unintentionally in situations such as this. "This is that horror film that was practically shelved earlier this year and is finally being released." The result is a horror film that is well worth watching, but may not be entirely what you're expecting.
Carriers is more about establishing an atmosphere than anything else. Everything is abandoned and rightfully so as most people were picked off handfuls at a time by this pandemic. The entire film is more like the first half hour of 28 Days Later where Jim wakes up in an abandoned hospital and realizes how empty the streets of London are. There aren't masses of the infected running around lusting for brains or wanting to tear humans apart in Carriers. The story follows these four friends as they journey across the country to this supposed sanctuary where they hope to tough it out until this disease runs its course. Carriers is more of a slow burn as things turn from bad to worse very slowly and snowball as the film goes on.
Chris Pine is really the drawing factor of the film. His role as Brian is kind of like a more intense version of his role as Kirk in Star Trek from earlier this year. Brian comes off as an inconsiderate prick the first half of the film and seems to only do things that benefit himself. The second half is where his character gets interesting though. The speech he gives Danny about their parents and telling Danny that he only told him what he wanted to hear is the turning point for Brian. Chris Pine shines as things begin to roll downhill for Brian as his emotions take center stage and his true demeanor is revealed.
Everything else in the film pretty much feels like routine manuevers when it comes to films revolving around viral outbreaks as some main characters contract the disease, they resort to drastic measures to survive, and begin to question their humanity along the way. The most disappointing part of the film is the ending as things just seem to kind of stop without much of a resolution. It seems like films like this either end this way or have a really depressing ending and that's its biggest flaw. Movie buffs who have seen films concerning pandemics already have a rough idea of how the film is going to end and it's about time to mix that up a bit. There's got to be a decent way to end the film that offers something a bit different that could wrap everything up until that point, but also leave enough room open for a sequel if need be.
Carriers may be a bit slow at first and doesn't really offer anything you probably haven't seen before in a film like this, but is still worth seeing for Chris Pine's performance. It's kind of a more serious take on Zombieland without actual zombies running or stumbling around with an atmosphere similar to the one established in Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later. If you're a fan of films involving a virus that has wiped out most of the human population, then this is still worth a watch.