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Amélie (2001)
Amélie (2001)
2001 | Comedy, Drama, International
Rich cinematic comfort food, not only am I wholly befuddled by this - but shocked at how many people don't hate it. By most means this shouldn't work let alone as remarkably as it does: it exudes any and all of the qualities that defined late 90s/early 00s Miramax-style cinema which sort of began with 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘉𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘺 and plateaued with 𝘉𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴 where everyone was randomly obsessed with people doing 'adorkable' quirky things for little to no reason (i.e. painting the same Renoir piece once a year for 20 years, looking under photo booths for torn up pictures that you then put together into an extensive photo album collection [??]) and ubiquitous, fast-talking overnarration that just explains a lot of excess details that only exist to be eccentric. I myself will most certainly cop to having a huge warm spot for that sort of film - for the most part - as now we've sort of crescendoed back into the 'monotonous, stock Wikipedia article' type of film. At any rate, this was just so wonderful. An ode to the good in life with pretty much spotless dialogue, scenes that snap together like puzzle pieces, and a deservedly iconic aesthetic - the way better version of 𝘗𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘵 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥. Audrey Tatou deserved *so* much better than slumming it in 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘢 𝘝𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘪 𝘊𝘰𝘥𝘦 after this.
  
Hellboy (2019)
Hellboy (2019)
2019 | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Better than online reviews suggest
Contains spoilers, click to show
Firstly, this version of Hellboy doesn't deserve only 17% on Rotten Tomatoes!

Yes it's different to the 2004 Hellboy, it's less jokey, more serious and darker.

I love Ron Pearlman in the 2004 Hellboy film, lets face it, he is an amazing Hellboy but I was very happy with David Harbours version of Hellboy. He played the tournamented demon perfectly. He was serious, yet funny.

Also I love the fact that in this version, Alice is played by a young, black woman, who is feisty and powerful. Sasha Lane plays the psychic, badass amazingly.

Throughout the film there is a few surprises in terms of who you'd think would star in this film, alot of familiar faces, and big names.

The storyline is well done, it's more like the Hellboy comics I read growning up than the first films. There is dark plots, Hellboys inner struggle of trying to keep his demon side down, amazing effects and real emotions.


I feel it's only let down was the fact is came out in cinemas as two major Marvel films also came into the cinema.


I very much look forward to a sequel, and judging by the first clip after the credits.....and the reveal of a certain favourite characters hand......it looks like a sequel is very much on the cards.
  
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Awix (3310 KP) rated Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) in Movies

Aug 26, 2019 (Updated Aug 26, 2019)  
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
1981 | Action, Adventure
Spielberg and Lucas' wonderful adventure shows you can ignore most of the accepted rules of screenwriting (the script here has some iffy plot devices, peculiar character moments, and the most literal deus ex machina ending in cinema history) and still end up with a virtually perfect movie. You can see how it appeals to the same desire for good-vs-evil escapism as Lucas' most famous creation, but there is an obvious love for the glamour and romance of Golden Age Hollywood here too, and a mysticism that in many way makes it the culmination of all the movies about faith Lucas and Spielberg made in the late 1970s (outside of horror films and biblical epics, this is one of the few mainstream movies predicated on the existence of God).

On one level this is essentially a succession of one set-piece after another, but what set-pieces they are - most movies would be happy to have one sequence like the one in the snake pit, or the plane fight, or the truck chase, and Spielberg cheerfully rattles them off without really pausing for breath. The film is also careful to take its time to establish character and humour, too. This is one of those movies where you can't help feeling that any changes would only end up spoiling it.
  
    SAPO

    SAPO

    Reference and Utilities

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    O SAPO é a maior rede de conteúdos e serviços na Internet em Portugal. Notícias, desporto,...

    Extreme Landings Pro

    Extreme Landings Pro

    Games and Entertainment

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    Take full control. Test your piloting skills and handle the most critical flight conditions known...

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David McK (3801 KP) rated The Tomorrow War (2021) in Movies

Aug 27, 2021 (Updated Nov 23, 2024)  
The Tomorrow War (2021)
The Tomorrow War (2021)
2021 | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
6
7.3 (19 Ratings)
Movie Rating
I was unaware until a spot of research after I had watched this (via Amazon Prime) that this was actually one of those movies that was originally meant to be shown in the cinema.

And then the Covid-19 pandemic hit.

Which - aside from the obvious! - is a pity where this was concerned: I do feel that it would have had more of an impact, more of a presence, on the big screen than on the small.

The plot is a take on the usual timey-wimey (to steal a phrase from the BBCs Doctor Who) type of stuff, where visitors from the future (IIRC, about 30 years or so) arrive in the present to recruit their ancestors to fight in an ongoing war against alien 'White Spikes' invaders: a war which humanity is currently losing.

The film then follows Chris Pratt's ex-military (natch) character Dan Forester, who ends up being one of those drafted to fight in the future: I say drafted, as the tour of duty is only meant to be about 7 days long, but most don't make it back or come back horribly (and psychologically) scarred, so - not surprising - most people try to avoid having to go!

Yes, if you think about it too much your head will probably hurt from all the paradoxes involved ...

Yes, it's enjoyable
  
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David McK (3801 KP) rated Jurassic World: Dominion (2022) in Movies

Aug 14, 2022 (Updated Dec 20, 2025)  
Jurassic World: Dominion (2022)
Jurassic World: Dominion (2022)
2022 | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
5
6.5 (16 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Insect park?
Jurassic Park (the original) is a masterpiece of cinema.

Jurassic Park 2: The Lost World has it's moments (the raptors in the long grass), but also has the annoying-kid-doing-gymnastics-while-a-Raptor-watches.

Jurassic Park 3 takes some scenes from the original novel (most noticeably the aviary) that were left out of the previous films, but also has the stupid ringing phone that a dinosaur has swallowed that remind the viewer too much (and not in a good way) of Peter Pan and Captain Hook crocodile.

Jurassic World follows the same format as Jurassic Park, except goes larger. It's not a bad movie.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom goes in a completely different direction, going the haunted house route in the second half, and ends with the dinosaurs released on the mainland.

Which is where Jurassic World: Dominion picks up, roughly four years on from the ending of Fallen Kingdom. Lots have been made of the fact that this also reunites the original cast - Sam Neill, Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum - alongside the newer duo of Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard.

The problem, however, is that more is quite often less, which I found to be the case here - plenty of action (and dinosaurs), yes, but also, well, just missing something :(