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Star Wars: A Test of Courage (The High Republic)
1.0
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When a transport ship is abruptly kicked out of hyperspace as part of a galaxy-wide disaster,...
After the Wanting
6.0
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Rising Internet sensation or creepy-guy magnet? Rachel's life is a muddle of highs and lows. Just...
Contemporary Suspense
The Voyeurs (2021)
7.0
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Pippa and Thomas move into their dream apartment, they notice that their windows look directly into...
David McK (3557 KP) rated Mr. Bean's Holiday (2007) in Movies
Jan 30, 2021 (Updated Aug 2, 2024)
Second big screen outing for Rowan Atkinson's one man disaster zone Mr Bean who, this time around, wins a trip in a local raffle to Cannes, with the film then following his travels across France (where he mistakenly seperates a kid from his father and gets mistaken for a kidnapper) and the various disasters he causes while doing so, until he finally reaches his destination just as the Cannes film festival is happening.
The Journey to Dissertation Success: For Construction, Property, and Architecture Students
Tim Howarth, Elizabeth Laycock and Paul Watson
Book
Are you about to embark on a research project for the first time? Unsure which data collection...
Movie Metropolis (309 KP) rated Deepwater Horizon (2016) in Movies
Jun 10, 2019 (Updated Jun 10, 2019)
Disaster with feeling
“Based on true events”. I can’t think of anything more disconcerting when I sit down to watch a film. When it comes to blockbusters inspired by real-life situations, the outcome can be a poignant movie that captures the heart and emotion of the episode – a la American Sniper.
Unfortunately, films in this genre can also be a disaster from start to finish with a story barely related to its real-life counterpart. You can forgive me then for going into Deepwater Horizon with an air of scepticism, but was it justified?
Thankfully, director Peter Berg (Hancock, Battleship) strikes the right balance between pleasing the movie-going masses and respecting the events that took the lives of eleven people aboard the Deepwater Horizon oil rig.
Based on the events that occurred in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010, the story chronicles the courage of those who worked on the Deepwater Horizon and the extreme moments of bravery and survival in the face of what would become one of the biggest man-made disasters in world history.
Mark Wahlberg takes the helm of this intriguing action thriller as Mike Williams, an electrician working on the rig during the explosion. A supporting cast that includes Kurt Russell, Gina Rodriguez, John Malkovich and The Maze Runner’s Dylan O’Brien bolster Wahlberg’s natural charisma and each of the aforementioned actors give first-rate performances.
The acting from all sides is superb. Mark Wahlberg in particular excels, being one of his best roles to date. His work has been decidedly dodgy over the last few years but his performance here shows just how good he is with the right material.
Nevertheless, at its core, Deepwater Horizon is a simple disaster movie, and carries the genre’s traits to a tee; there’s the obligatory hero (Mark Wahlberg), the boss/politician who doesn’t believe anything is wrong (John Malkovich), the bombastic score (courtesy of Steve Jablonsky) and the damsel in distress (Gina Rodriguez). What it does differently however is focus more on the human elements of the plot – something helped by the fact the scriptwriters had factual events to pick from.
The special effects are astounding, aided greatly by Peter Berg’s often hectic camerawork. There’s very little shaky-cam but the claustrophobic nature of the rig itself is beautifully utilised in low angled shots and sweeping exterior sequences. The scenes showing the rig on fire are so intense you can virtually feel the heat radiating from them.
It almost feels like a documentary, and a very good one at that. The audience is given references throughout the film of Deepwater Horizon’s many functions and the scale of the behemoth is apparent throughout.
Overall, to say Deepwater Horizon is a cracking disaster film feels like a slight disservice to the eleven people who died aboard it in 2010. Having Peter Berg direct was a risky move when looking at his back-catalogue but after a viewing, it’s hard to think of anyone else better suited.
This is a disaster movie with feeling and it’s one of the best films of the year.
https://moviemetropolis.net/2016/09/30/disaster-with-feeling-deepwater-horizon-review/
Unfortunately, films in this genre can also be a disaster from start to finish with a story barely related to its real-life counterpart. You can forgive me then for going into Deepwater Horizon with an air of scepticism, but was it justified?
Thankfully, director Peter Berg (Hancock, Battleship) strikes the right balance between pleasing the movie-going masses and respecting the events that took the lives of eleven people aboard the Deepwater Horizon oil rig.
Based on the events that occurred in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010, the story chronicles the courage of those who worked on the Deepwater Horizon and the extreme moments of bravery and survival in the face of what would become one of the biggest man-made disasters in world history.
Mark Wahlberg takes the helm of this intriguing action thriller as Mike Williams, an electrician working on the rig during the explosion. A supporting cast that includes Kurt Russell, Gina Rodriguez, John Malkovich and The Maze Runner’s Dylan O’Brien bolster Wahlberg’s natural charisma and each of the aforementioned actors give first-rate performances.
The acting from all sides is superb. Mark Wahlberg in particular excels, being one of his best roles to date. His work has been decidedly dodgy over the last few years but his performance here shows just how good he is with the right material.
Nevertheless, at its core, Deepwater Horizon is a simple disaster movie, and carries the genre’s traits to a tee; there’s the obligatory hero (Mark Wahlberg), the boss/politician who doesn’t believe anything is wrong (John Malkovich), the bombastic score (courtesy of Steve Jablonsky) and the damsel in distress (Gina Rodriguez). What it does differently however is focus more on the human elements of the plot – something helped by the fact the scriptwriters had factual events to pick from.
The special effects are astounding, aided greatly by Peter Berg’s often hectic camerawork. There’s very little shaky-cam but the claustrophobic nature of the rig itself is beautifully utilised in low angled shots and sweeping exterior sequences. The scenes showing the rig on fire are so intense you can virtually feel the heat radiating from them.
It almost feels like a documentary, and a very good one at that. The audience is given references throughout the film of Deepwater Horizon’s many functions and the scale of the behemoth is apparent throughout.
Overall, to say Deepwater Horizon is a cracking disaster film feels like a slight disservice to the eleven people who died aboard it in 2010. Having Peter Berg direct was a risky move when looking at his back-catalogue but after a viewing, it’s hard to think of anyone else better suited.
This is a disaster movie with feeling and it’s one of the best films of the year.
https://moviemetropolis.net/2016/09/30/disaster-with-feeling-deepwater-horizon-review/
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Greenland (2020) in Movies
Feb 11, 2021
A disaster movie starring Gerard Butler? Of course I was desperate to see it!
John Garrity has a golden ticket to survive the incoming apocalypse. A comet is heading to Earth and debris is wreaking havoc, but no one truly knew the trouble the world was facing. As the clock ticks down, it's a race for survival.
While the big plot point of this film was the disaster, it was actually quite heavily focused on the family drama... and I'm not going to lie, that made me a little disappointed early on.
I think it's best not to query certain things in Greenland... yeah, probably a lot of things you shouldn't think about really.
Greenland reminds me of Volcano in some instances. The ups and downs of what happens to the people in the disaster can be seen, though in this instance the focus is on the Garrity family and we see little of peripheral characters directly. But never the less, you're able to follow that rollercoaster of emotions as you go through the film and feel the highs and lows, as well as the hope and devastation.
Obviously Gerard Butler in a disaster films screams five stars. I loved Geo-Storm and watch it frequently, so I was fairly confident that this was going to be an instant favourite. Butler in an action film does call to me, and I like him with a bit of humour, but this was a solid drama and he nailed it. He gets several moments that perfectly show the character's emotional journey, and I felt that impact (pun intended?).
Garrity's wife is played by the wonderful Morena Baccarin. She also has the opportunity for some powerful moments, and one of them hits you like a dump truck. Along with Butler they work as impressive and strong leads to the individual stems of the film.
Unusually I found all the additional cast to be good too, there's normally someone that isn't quite my cup of tea, but I was pleasantly surprised that I didn't find that here. There wasn't a moment that took me out of the film at all. While the rest of the acting takes a back seat to the leads once the acting started there were a few amazing moments early on from the Garrity's neighbours. Claire Bronson as Debra (I really hope I got the right actress here) has one of the most incredible moments, and it truly got to me. There were so many moments that made me cry or hold my breath, even the second time around... I really can't fault the acting.
When it comes to the effects I get really sad. In the trailer you see a piece of debris crash into the planet and some of the following scene plays out. That moment in full is incredible to watch, the build up to it and the ripple effects it causes are such a strong moment that helped to cement the severity of the situation... I felt it from my TV, hell, I felt it when I watch it from my iPad... but I couldn't help but think about how amazing it would have been to experience that at the cinema.
As cheesy as some disaster film effects can be, and let's face it, there are some truly dire disaster films out there if you know where to look, there wasn't a moment in Greenland where it felt unrealistic. The effects all looked natural (within the scope of my knowledge in the real world... and crappy made for TV disaster movies) and that really helped with the drama.
How can I sum up Greenland? The emotional performances, the effects, the colour palette of the film... it all combined for an excellent watch. I've seen it twice already, and I'll absolutely be watching it again.
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2021/02/greenland-movie-review.html
John Garrity has a golden ticket to survive the incoming apocalypse. A comet is heading to Earth and debris is wreaking havoc, but no one truly knew the trouble the world was facing. As the clock ticks down, it's a race for survival.
While the big plot point of this film was the disaster, it was actually quite heavily focused on the family drama... and I'm not going to lie, that made me a little disappointed early on.
I think it's best not to query certain things in Greenland... yeah, probably a lot of things you shouldn't think about really.
Greenland reminds me of Volcano in some instances. The ups and downs of what happens to the people in the disaster can be seen, though in this instance the focus is on the Garrity family and we see little of peripheral characters directly. But never the less, you're able to follow that rollercoaster of emotions as you go through the film and feel the highs and lows, as well as the hope and devastation.
Obviously Gerard Butler in a disaster films screams five stars. I loved Geo-Storm and watch it frequently, so I was fairly confident that this was going to be an instant favourite. Butler in an action film does call to me, and I like him with a bit of humour, but this was a solid drama and he nailed it. He gets several moments that perfectly show the character's emotional journey, and I felt that impact (pun intended?).
Garrity's wife is played by the wonderful Morena Baccarin. She also has the opportunity for some powerful moments, and one of them hits you like a dump truck. Along with Butler they work as impressive and strong leads to the individual stems of the film.
Unusually I found all the additional cast to be good too, there's normally someone that isn't quite my cup of tea, but I was pleasantly surprised that I didn't find that here. There wasn't a moment that took me out of the film at all. While the rest of the acting takes a back seat to the leads once the acting started there were a few amazing moments early on from the Garrity's neighbours. Claire Bronson as Debra (I really hope I got the right actress here) has one of the most incredible moments, and it truly got to me. There were so many moments that made me cry or hold my breath, even the second time around... I really can't fault the acting.
When it comes to the effects I get really sad. In the trailer you see a piece of debris crash into the planet and some of the following scene plays out. That moment in full is incredible to watch, the build up to it and the ripple effects it causes are such a strong moment that helped to cement the severity of the situation... I felt it from my TV, hell, I felt it when I watch it from my iPad... but I couldn't help but think about how amazing it would have been to experience that at the cinema.
As cheesy as some disaster film effects can be, and let's face it, there are some truly dire disaster films out there if you know where to look, there wasn't a moment in Greenland where it felt unrealistic. The effects all looked natural (within the scope of my knowledge in the real world... and crappy made for TV disaster movies) and that really helped with the drama.
How can I sum up Greenland? The emotional performances, the effects, the colour palette of the film... it all combined for an excellent watch. I've seen it twice already, and I'll absolutely be watching it again.
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2021/02/greenland-movie-review.html
Dean (6927 KP) rated 2012 (2009) in Movies
Feb 8, 2018
A great OTT action, disaster film on a grand scale. The budget must have been huge, the SFX alone are very good and the biggest pull of the film. So very well done, you'll feel like you're on a roller coaster ride the whole time. Very similar to all the other big blockbuster films of Emmerich, The day after tomorrow and Independence day and this sticks to the same formula. Good cast to, well worth checking out!
This Book is Full of Spiders: Seriously Dude Don't Touch it
9.0
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In this blistering sequel to the bestselling cult sensation, "John Dies at the End", our heroes find...
Bostonian916 (449 KP) rated San Andreas (2015) in Movies
Jun 22, 2020
Reasonable expectations
Contains spoilers, click to show
This is very much a film that you should have appropriate expectations for. It's a Dwayne Johnson movie about a world changing disaster. If you watch it with that expectation, good job! You're going to have a fine time. If you watch it expecting it to be a cinematic masterpiece, don't waste your time just so you can complain later. Allow yourself to enjoy the movie for exactly what it claims it is. Nothing more.