Search
Gareth von Kallenbach (971 KP) rated Brooklyn's Finest (2010) in Movies
Aug 8, 2019
The story of three cops Sal, Tango, and Eddie, “Brooklyn’s Finest” depicts a graphic understanding of the challenges faced by hardened policemen. Eddie (Richard Gere) is disgruntled and seven days away from retirement from the police force. Tango (Don Cheadle) is stuck undercover while his real life is breaking apart. Sal (Ethan Hawke) can’t afford to support his growing family. All three of them are about to have a week that will test who they are as cops in the not so clear-cut morals of the Brooklyn police force.
A hard-hitting and graphic film, “Brooklyn’s Finest” shows the complicated life of cops struggling to balance morals and justice. Audiences will find it strongly languaged, visually appalling, and emotionally striking. These cops are not the clean-cut ideals that serve and protect, but rather people who have intensified problems on the mean streets of Brooklyn.
For the three lead actors these roles offer significant stretch, particularly in the case of Gere, who displays a physical and emotional depth in the film that is engrossing. Another worthy performance is that of Wesley Snipes as Caz, a gang leader who has recently returned from prison and is now seeking a path to new better life. With complicated characters like these, the film takes a hold of viewers by examining right and wrong in the world of both cops and criminals.
In short, “Brooklyn’s Finest” is a well-paced gripping story played by strong actors. However, audiences should be warned that the tough subject matter and hardened characters make it a far cry from traditional police dramas. This is a film that is likely to offend those who have strong ties to the ideals of police life or a distinct dislike for violence. For the rest of the movie-going public, “Brooklyn’s Finest” is a well-scripted film that is hard to ignore.
A hard-hitting and graphic film, “Brooklyn’s Finest” shows the complicated life of cops struggling to balance morals and justice. Audiences will find it strongly languaged, visually appalling, and emotionally striking. These cops are not the clean-cut ideals that serve and protect, but rather people who have intensified problems on the mean streets of Brooklyn.
For the three lead actors these roles offer significant stretch, particularly in the case of Gere, who displays a physical and emotional depth in the film that is engrossing. Another worthy performance is that of Wesley Snipes as Caz, a gang leader who has recently returned from prison and is now seeking a path to new better life. With complicated characters like these, the film takes a hold of viewers by examining right and wrong in the world of both cops and criminals.
In short, “Brooklyn’s Finest” is a well-paced gripping story played by strong actors. However, audiences should be warned that the tough subject matter and hardened characters make it a far cry from traditional police dramas. This is a film that is likely to offend those who have strong ties to the ideals of police life or a distinct dislike for violence. For the rest of the movie-going public, “Brooklyn’s Finest” is a well-scripted film that is hard to ignore.
EasterBunnyKiller (31 KP) rated It: Chapter Two (2019) in Movies
Sep 16, 2019
Contains spoilers, click to show
Saw this before starting my shift the Saturday of opening weekend. I would have rated this higher if it hadn't hurt my fanboy feelings as much as it did, but I am of two minds about this movie.
Visually, it's stunning. The differences in the color palette between the teenage and adult version of the Losers Club and the tunnels beneath the house on Neibolt street was great, just like in the first movie. Andy Muschietti did a great job capturing the frenetic dread during the final conflict with Pennywise. The acting is great. And I'm very pleased at how effective the movie is with horror in the light, instead of relying o the dark for tension.
The dialogue is fun and Bill Hader knocked it out of the park. I enjoyed the departure from the source material in regard to the specifics of the final confrontation, which changed the specifics, but managed the retain the theme and feeling of the book's conclusion.
Now the bad:
At times, It: Chapter Two felt like a high concept comedy starring Bill Hader. Now I understand and appreciate the character of Ritchie and his wisecracking timbre, but at times, it felt a bit much and took me out of the tension of the story.
I wasn't a huge fan of some of the characterisations of the adult versions of the characters. Specifically, Eddie and Mike. For Mike, one would have thought that given the he is the entire reason the the Losers reunite, he would have had some kind of plan better than "get everyone together and hope that's enough." The way he tries to convince them all to stick around and fight It seems contrived, considering that the film very much moves away from the idea of Bill being the leader of the group.
As far as Eddie, I felt like it was a missed opportunity with regard to him facing his fears. In the novel, adult Eddie is still very much ruled by his own fears. It didn't feel like a very big moment for him to overcome his fear in the movie, because there is very little prove-up for his fearfulness as an adult.
There were certain things I wasn't very much of a fan of, like the abbreviated inclusion of Henry Bowers, and the decided lack of a cosmic Turtle, but all in all, it was an enjoyable movie, with a couple of legitimately creepy scenes on it.
Visually, it's stunning. The differences in the color palette between the teenage and adult version of the Losers Club and the tunnels beneath the house on Neibolt street was great, just like in the first movie. Andy Muschietti did a great job capturing the frenetic dread during the final conflict with Pennywise. The acting is great. And I'm very pleased at how effective the movie is with horror in the light, instead of relying o the dark for tension.
The dialogue is fun and Bill Hader knocked it out of the park. I enjoyed the departure from the source material in regard to the specifics of the final confrontation, which changed the specifics, but managed the retain the theme and feeling of the book's conclusion.
Now the bad:
At times, It: Chapter Two felt like a high concept comedy starring Bill Hader. Now I understand and appreciate the character of Ritchie and his wisecracking timbre, but at times, it felt a bit much and took me out of the tension of the story.
I wasn't a huge fan of some of the characterisations of the adult versions of the characters. Specifically, Eddie and Mike. For Mike, one would have thought that given the he is the entire reason the the Losers reunite, he would have had some kind of plan better than "get everyone together and hope that's enough." The way he tries to convince them all to stick around and fight It seems contrived, considering that the film very much moves away from the idea of Bill being the leader of the group.
As far as Eddie, I felt like it was a missed opportunity with regard to him facing his fears. In the novel, adult Eddie is still very much ruled by his own fears. It didn't feel like a very big moment for him to overcome his fear in the movie, because there is very little prove-up for his fearfulness as an adult.
There were certain things I wasn't very much of a fan of, like the abbreviated inclusion of Henry Bowers, and the decided lack of a cosmic Turtle, but all in all, it was an enjoyable movie, with a couple of legitimately creepy scenes on it.
Chris Sawin (602 KP) rated Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021) in Movies
Dec 14, 2021
Tom Hardy's performance. (2 more)
Better CGI than the first film.
The film is stupidly fun.
It is REALLY dumb. (2 more)
Shriek is a wasted character.
Woody Harrelson's "hair."
Idiotic Gold
Venom was an unlikely hit for Sony Pictures making over $850 million worldwide – despite being a sloppy mess of a film.
Written by Jeff Pinkner (Jumanji (2019), The Dark Tower), Scott Rosenberg (Con Air, Gone in 60 Seconds), and Kelly Marcel (Cruella, Fifty Shades of Grey), the first Venom film boasted cheesy 90s dialogue, ugly, blobby CGI/special effects sequences, and a wacky performance from Tom Hardy.
However, its sequel – Venom: Let There Be Carnage – is essentially the restaurant/lobster tank sequence from the first film stretched across 90-minutes of absurdity.
If you revisit Venom before watching Venom: Let There Be Carnage – and more specifically, the end credits sequence from the first film – the difference between the two is almost night and day. At the end of the last film, Eddie showed a calm, confident demeanor totally confident in his demeanor when interviewing Cletus Kasady (Woody Harrelson).
However, in the actual sequel itself, Eddie is back to looking sick, sweating profusely, and constantly fidgeting while talking to Cletus, obviously showing signs that his attempts to keep Venom under control have taken a toll on him.
Meanwhile, it seems as though the filmmakers couldn’t decide on how to style Harrelson’s red-haired wig for the film, as it humorously changes in appearance nearly every time Cletus is on screen.
Not learning anything from Anne’s (Michelle Williams) decision to leave him in the first film, Venom: Let There Be Carnage sees Eddie attempting to cover Cletus as a way to right his struggling journalism career.
But after Cletus gets a taste of Eddie’s blood, he becomes Carnage, the unpredictable and murderous son of the symbiote.
Kelly Marcell is the only writer from the first film to return, but the sequel mark’s Tom Hardy first feature film writing credit. Hardy contributed a ton of material regarding the intricacies of Venom and Eddie’s relationship – and it shows, as because they obviously know each other very well, the two drive each other crazy and argue like an old married couple.
For example, Venom is sick of eating chickens and being restrained by Eddie’s rules, and throws weird, symbiotic tantrums when he doesn’t get his way, acting very much like a child who isn’t able to play with their favorite toy or eat their favorite candy.
What’s intriguing about Venom and Eddie’s relationship is that it’s complicated, to say the least. There are homosexual undertones in the film, with Venom seemingly having his own ‘coming out party’ and even confessing his love for Eddie, but most of the film’s romantic undertones deal with both Eddie and Venom’s desire to win back Annie – the former because he’s still in love with her, and the latter because he wants Eddie to be happy, as the two humans are better together than they are apart.
It’s not as awkward as Eddie and Venom having a baby in the comics, but it’s still a peculiar way to go about exploring their relationship. Yet, it kind of works with the overall hectic and fast paced nature of the film.
The sequel also features an overall improvement in CGI and special effects, with Venom appearing more detailed in both the black, sleeker, and shinier parts of his body and his head, while his teeth have so much more detail than they did in his first outing.
Carnage being red also allows the audience to decipher what’s occurring on screen so much easier than in the first film, whose final fight between Venom and Riot is a horrid mess of two gray and black symbiotes that kind of just mashes them together into an indistinguishable blob of CGI and hopes that the audience’s imagination can do most of the heavy lifting.
Notably, there’s also a ton of fire in Let There Be Carnage, an ambient background addition which adds additional light sources and makes the action so much easier for your eyes to process.
The transformation sequences are special effects masterpieces because they have almost a werewolf kind of aspect to them – those in-between animations of Tom Hardy’s and Woody Harrelson’s faces being half transformed go a long way.
In particular, Carnage’s introduction is a pretty incredible display, as he causes a ton of mayhem and kills a massive amount of people. However, there is one lame aspect of Carnage’s CGI appearance, which is the goofy ‘tornado’ he turns into to as he violently sweep across his prison block – thankfully, however, it’s a simple thing to look past.
As for the Shriek (Naomie Harris)/Officer Mulligan (Stephen Graham), her entire side story is ultimately unnecessary. Shriek is only included in the film because of her ability to scream, and thus hurt symbiotes (due to their weakness to loud sounds).
Harris also uses a really stupid raspy voice for the role and is basically wasted overall in both her talents as an actor and as a meaningful character.
Venom: Let There Be Carnage never tries to be anything other than a dumb superhero film, but if you hated the first film, the sequel won’t make you feel any differently about Marvel’s lethal protector.
Hardy, in dual roles, is what makes these films worthwhile in the slightest, as his intricately comical self-chemistry is insane. The film also boasts what feels like an accelerated pace that moves the story from action sequence to action sequence before coming to an end rather quickly, leaving Venom: Let There Be Carnage to stand as one of those a special kind of stupid blockbuster endeavors that, every so often, strikes idiotic gold.
The sequel is a definite improvement over the first film in the sense that it totally embraces its stupidity resulting in a comic book film that feels light, silly, and amusingly psychotic all at the same time.
Oh, and in case you’re wondering – yes, the end-credits sequence is as worthwhile as the internet has made it out to be.
Written by Jeff Pinkner (Jumanji (2019), The Dark Tower), Scott Rosenberg (Con Air, Gone in 60 Seconds), and Kelly Marcel (Cruella, Fifty Shades of Grey), the first Venom film boasted cheesy 90s dialogue, ugly, blobby CGI/special effects sequences, and a wacky performance from Tom Hardy.
However, its sequel – Venom: Let There Be Carnage – is essentially the restaurant/lobster tank sequence from the first film stretched across 90-minutes of absurdity.
If you revisit Venom before watching Venom: Let There Be Carnage – and more specifically, the end credits sequence from the first film – the difference between the two is almost night and day. At the end of the last film, Eddie showed a calm, confident demeanor totally confident in his demeanor when interviewing Cletus Kasady (Woody Harrelson).
However, in the actual sequel itself, Eddie is back to looking sick, sweating profusely, and constantly fidgeting while talking to Cletus, obviously showing signs that his attempts to keep Venom under control have taken a toll on him.
Meanwhile, it seems as though the filmmakers couldn’t decide on how to style Harrelson’s red-haired wig for the film, as it humorously changes in appearance nearly every time Cletus is on screen.
Not learning anything from Anne’s (Michelle Williams) decision to leave him in the first film, Venom: Let There Be Carnage sees Eddie attempting to cover Cletus as a way to right his struggling journalism career.
But after Cletus gets a taste of Eddie’s blood, he becomes Carnage, the unpredictable and murderous son of the symbiote.
Kelly Marcell is the only writer from the first film to return, but the sequel mark’s Tom Hardy first feature film writing credit. Hardy contributed a ton of material regarding the intricacies of Venom and Eddie’s relationship – and it shows, as because they obviously know each other very well, the two drive each other crazy and argue like an old married couple.
For example, Venom is sick of eating chickens and being restrained by Eddie’s rules, and throws weird, symbiotic tantrums when he doesn’t get his way, acting very much like a child who isn’t able to play with their favorite toy or eat their favorite candy.
What’s intriguing about Venom and Eddie’s relationship is that it’s complicated, to say the least. There are homosexual undertones in the film, with Venom seemingly having his own ‘coming out party’ and even confessing his love for Eddie, but most of the film’s romantic undertones deal with both Eddie and Venom’s desire to win back Annie – the former because he’s still in love with her, and the latter because he wants Eddie to be happy, as the two humans are better together than they are apart.
It’s not as awkward as Eddie and Venom having a baby in the comics, but it’s still a peculiar way to go about exploring their relationship. Yet, it kind of works with the overall hectic and fast paced nature of the film.
The sequel also features an overall improvement in CGI and special effects, with Venom appearing more detailed in both the black, sleeker, and shinier parts of his body and his head, while his teeth have so much more detail than they did in his first outing.
Carnage being red also allows the audience to decipher what’s occurring on screen so much easier than in the first film, whose final fight between Venom and Riot is a horrid mess of two gray and black symbiotes that kind of just mashes them together into an indistinguishable blob of CGI and hopes that the audience’s imagination can do most of the heavy lifting.
Notably, there’s also a ton of fire in Let There Be Carnage, an ambient background addition which adds additional light sources and makes the action so much easier for your eyes to process.
The transformation sequences are special effects masterpieces because they have almost a werewolf kind of aspect to them – those in-between animations of Tom Hardy’s and Woody Harrelson’s faces being half transformed go a long way.
In particular, Carnage’s introduction is a pretty incredible display, as he causes a ton of mayhem and kills a massive amount of people. However, there is one lame aspect of Carnage’s CGI appearance, which is the goofy ‘tornado’ he turns into to as he violently sweep across his prison block – thankfully, however, it’s a simple thing to look past.
As for the Shriek (Naomie Harris)/Officer Mulligan (Stephen Graham), her entire side story is ultimately unnecessary. Shriek is only included in the film because of her ability to scream, and thus hurt symbiotes (due to their weakness to loud sounds).
Harris also uses a really stupid raspy voice for the role and is basically wasted overall in both her talents as an actor and as a meaningful character.
Venom: Let There Be Carnage never tries to be anything other than a dumb superhero film, but if you hated the first film, the sequel won’t make you feel any differently about Marvel’s lethal protector.
Hardy, in dual roles, is what makes these films worthwhile in the slightest, as his intricately comical self-chemistry is insane. The film also boasts what feels like an accelerated pace that moves the story from action sequence to action sequence before coming to an end rather quickly, leaving Venom: Let There Be Carnage to stand as one of those a special kind of stupid blockbuster endeavors that, every so often, strikes idiotic gold.
The sequel is a definite improvement over the first film in the sense that it totally embraces its stupidity resulting in a comic book film that feels light, silly, and amusingly psychotic all at the same time.
Oh, and in case you’re wondering – yes, the end-credits sequence is as worthwhile as the internet has made it out to be.
Andy K (10821 KP) rated Altered States (1980) in Movies
Oct 26, 2019
Dr. Eddie Jessup is conducting some interesting research using a deprivation chamber. His goal is to better understand the human mind and maybe the psychology of schizophrenia or how the deep unconscious works. He meets a smart female mind and the two have a whirlwind romance which distracts from his research a bit.
He does manage to make a trip to Mexico where he hears about a tribe using a hallucinatory drug which causes some of the same effects he experienced while submerged in his isolation tank back home so he decides to try it. He has massive hallucinations, loses control of his actions and even gives in to his more primal instincts and devours a sheep. When he wakes he only remember bits and pieces of his actions, but is convinced this is the correct road for his research.
Back in the US, he decides to combine both elements of his research including use of the drug and the chamber at the same time to see the results. The results of the combination are not only dangerous to Eddie's psyche and soul, but to his physical human body as well. He performs an unsupervised deprivation experience on his own and experiences an evolution regression back to a primitive homo sapien state which is now loose in the basement of his lab and has to be stopped.
Eddie ultimately has to decide if his estranged family or his research is more important to him and if now it is too late to have them both.
Famed, provocative British director Ken Russell takes on the task of bringing this interesting, colorful and wild film to life. He already had a reputation of helming controversial films like The Devils and Tommy, so maybe this film was a step down from those.
The psychedelic hallucination sequences Eddie experiences while on the drug or in the chamber were so unique, shocking and visceral they were intense but hard to look away from. Images were being edited at such a pace your mind races as you watch them. Eddie's personal journey as a doctor and student of the human mind are fascinating to watch as he struggles with his relationship with his wife and kids at the same time. As he continues his research, he wants to understand what is happening to him, but doesn't want to be inhibited but others' desires.
William Hurt and Blair Brown have good chemistry when together onscreen and you feel her concern as she feels she is losing the man she loves to something she doesn't understand. They both field infidelity in their marriage as he tries to fill the empty space of commitment and she tries in vain to replace with others the man she truly loves.
He does manage to make a trip to Mexico where he hears about a tribe using a hallucinatory drug which causes some of the same effects he experienced while submerged in his isolation tank back home so he decides to try it. He has massive hallucinations, loses control of his actions and even gives in to his more primal instincts and devours a sheep. When he wakes he only remember bits and pieces of his actions, but is convinced this is the correct road for his research.
Back in the US, he decides to combine both elements of his research including use of the drug and the chamber at the same time to see the results. The results of the combination are not only dangerous to Eddie's psyche and soul, but to his physical human body as well. He performs an unsupervised deprivation experience on his own and experiences an evolution regression back to a primitive homo sapien state which is now loose in the basement of his lab and has to be stopped.
Eddie ultimately has to decide if his estranged family or his research is more important to him and if now it is too late to have them both.
Famed, provocative British director Ken Russell takes on the task of bringing this interesting, colorful and wild film to life. He already had a reputation of helming controversial films like The Devils and Tommy, so maybe this film was a step down from those.
The psychedelic hallucination sequences Eddie experiences while on the drug or in the chamber were so unique, shocking and visceral they were intense but hard to look away from. Images were being edited at such a pace your mind races as you watch them. Eddie's personal journey as a doctor and student of the human mind are fascinating to watch as he struggles with his relationship with his wife and kids at the same time. As he continues his research, he wants to understand what is happening to him, but doesn't want to be inhibited but others' desires.
William Hurt and Blair Brown have good chemistry when together onscreen and you feel her concern as she feels she is losing the man she loves to something she doesn't understand. They both field infidelity in their marriage as he tries to fill the empty space of commitment and she tries in vain to replace with others the man she truly loves.
Kristy H (1252 KP) rated The Rumour in Books
Feb 13, 2018
It's a busy time on Nantucket and the rumor mill is churning away. Their focus? Best friends Madeline and Grace and their families. Madeline, a writer, is struggling to follow up on her last novel, or risk returning her (already spent) advance. She's also pretty upset that Grace's husband hasn't returned the money she invested in him a few months ago. Meanwhile, her son, Brick, is having troubles of his own, while dating one of Grace's twins: Allegra. Grace is busy on turning her yard into the talk of the town -- a beautiful garden escape, but she's also focusing a little too much on her landscape architect, Benton Coe. Her husband, real estate agent, Eddie, is over his head with several spec houses and is trying to make back the money in some unusual ways. And neither Grace nor Eddie have any idea what their teenage twins Allegra or Hope are up to... As the rumor mill gets busy in Nantucket, how much of what is swirling around is true? Are these two families headed for a fall?
There is a small group of novelists who write about Nantucket, and I tend to get them confused, because I'm awful like that, but this book had been on my "hold" list at the library forever, so I probably read a review of it somewhere. It was a pleasant and refreshingly enjoyable read; I would categorize it as an ideal beach book. It's not going to win any writing prizes, but it was a surprisingly captivating tale of these two families on Nantucket. There was no one real identifiable character (both Grace and Madeline have their strengths and weaknesses and could be rather irksome at times) but it was still enjoyable. Even better, while the plot was silly and a little ridiculous at times, with the families still having far too much money, they also had some real problems and issues, which they actually had to address. It also wasn't completely predictable, nor did it just focus on a love story, which was nice for this genre.
Overall, 3.5 stars: put a paperback of this in your beach or pool bag this summer; it will be a fun diversion.
There is a small group of novelists who write about Nantucket, and I tend to get them confused, because I'm awful like that, but this book had been on my "hold" list at the library forever, so I probably read a review of it somewhere. It was a pleasant and refreshingly enjoyable read; I would categorize it as an ideal beach book. It's not going to win any writing prizes, but it was a surprisingly captivating tale of these two families on Nantucket. There was no one real identifiable character (both Grace and Madeline have their strengths and weaknesses and could be rather irksome at times) but it was still enjoyable. Even better, while the plot was silly and a little ridiculous at times, with the families still having far too much money, they also had some real problems and issues, which they actually had to address. It also wasn't completely predictable, nor did it just focus on a love story, which was nice for this genre.
Overall, 3.5 stars: put a paperback of this in your beach or pool bag this summer; it will be a fun diversion.
BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated Venom (2018) in Movies
Oct 13, 2018
Hardy, Williams elevate mediocre material
I had lowered my expectations when entering the new Sony film VENOM for I had heard that this non-MCU Marvel film wasn't really a Marvel - or a Spiderman - film, even though it features one of the more famous characters from the Spiderman Universe, which is, of course, a Marvel property.
Confused, yet?
Well, don't be. Because this knowledge is not needed, nor (quite frankly) is it wanted as the filmmakers of Venom made a film that centers on the titular anti-hero with no real regard to his place in the Marvel Universe.
And this works well...enough. True, the plot, dialogue, situations, special effects and gadgets of this film are middle-of-the-road at best, but with the two folks at the center of this film, I started to forgive this film it's many flaws and enjoyed two Oscar-caliber Actors having a good ol' time in a Supehero movie.
Venom, of course, tells the story of...Eddie Brock..who becomes - through a merging of his body with an Alien symbiotic creature (don't worry about it, just roll with it) - becomes the titular VENOM. A being that wants to eat live creatures (most notably human heads) while the good part of Eddie tries to keep him in check and help him fight bad guys.
In lesser performance hands, this character could become silly and stupid, but in the more than capable performance by the great Tom Hardy (Bane in THE DARK KNIGHT RISES), Eddie Brock/Venom is an intriguing figure to watch on-screen. His simultaneous ability to look unnerved and hunger for live flesh while looking for a nice cool bath caused me to smirk on more than one occasion and I ended up rooting for him throughout the film.
Matching him is the great Michelle Williams (she of the 4 Oscar nominations, most recently in MANCHESTER BY THE SEA) as Eddie Brock's ex-Fiance Anne Weying. Like Hardy, Williams is elevating mediocre material to something better than the mediocrity it was destined to be. The chemistry between Williams and Hardy is evident in their bi-play with each other and I couldn't help but think "get these two into an Oscar-caliber film together and watch the sparks - and the awards - fly."
Unfortunately, Riz Ahmed as bad guy Carlton Drake is not able to rise above the material and when he is playing opposite Hardy and/or Williams, he pales in comparison and I began to realize just how weak the script by the trio of Jeff Pinkner, Scott Rosenberg and Kelly Marcel is. Clearly, two of them were brought in to re-write the original (I have no idea who did what) but none of them were able to elevate the proceedings.
Nor could Director Ruben Fleischer (ZOMBIELAND) elevate things. His Direction is pedestrian at best. There is nothing really interesting going on and when the going got tough he just started to rely on the quick cut/edits that is so "en vogue" these days - and it grew tiresome.
But when I started to grow weary of the events on the screen, Hardy and Williams would show up and I began to forgive things again, even thinking during the credits scene (where they introduce the Villain for VENOM 2), I want to see Hardy and Williams play against (name deleted so as not to spoil) as the new Villain - that might be cool!
So, I'm "in" for Venom. It was "good enough" and I will come back for the next installment - and based on the Box Office of the opening weekend, there WILL BE a next installment.
Letter Grade: B
7 (out of 10) stars and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
Confused, yet?
Well, don't be. Because this knowledge is not needed, nor (quite frankly) is it wanted as the filmmakers of Venom made a film that centers on the titular anti-hero with no real regard to his place in the Marvel Universe.
And this works well...enough. True, the plot, dialogue, situations, special effects and gadgets of this film are middle-of-the-road at best, but with the two folks at the center of this film, I started to forgive this film it's many flaws and enjoyed two Oscar-caliber Actors having a good ol' time in a Supehero movie.
Venom, of course, tells the story of...Eddie Brock..who becomes - through a merging of his body with an Alien symbiotic creature (don't worry about it, just roll with it) - becomes the titular VENOM. A being that wants to eat live creatures (most notably human heads) while the good part of Eddie tries to keep him in check and help him fight bad guys.
In lesser performance hands, this character could become silly and stupid, but in the more than capable performance by the great Tom Hardy (Bane in THE DARK KNIGHT RISES), Eddie Brock/Venom is an intriguing figure to watch on-screen. His simultaneous ability to look unnerved and hunger for live flesh while looking for a nice cool bath caused me to smirk on more than one occasion and I ended up rooting for him throughout the film.
Matching him is the great Michelle Williams (she of the 4 Oscar nominations, most recently in MANCHESTER BY THE SEA) as Eddie Brock's ex-Fiance Anne Weying. Like Hardy, Williams is elevating mediocre material to something better than the mediocrity it was destined to be. The chemistry between Williams and Hardy is evident in their bi-play with each other and I couldn't help but think "get these two into an Oscar-caliber film together and watch the sparks - and the awards - fly."
Unfortunately, Riz Ahmed as bad guy Carlton Drake is not able to rise above the material and when he is playing opposite Hardy and/or Williams, he pales in comparison and I began to realize just how weak the script by the trio of Jeff Pinkner, Scott Rosenberg and Kelly Marcel is. Clearly, two of them were brought in to re-write the original (I have no idea who did what) but none of them were able to elevate the proceedings.
Nor could Director Ruben Fleischer (ZOMBIELAND) elevate things. His Direction is pedestrian at best. There is nothing really interesting going on and when the going got tough he just started to rely on the quick cut/edits that is so "en vogue" these days - and it grew tiresome.
But when I started to grow weary of the events on the screen, Hardy and Williams would show up and I began to forgive things again, even thinking during the credits scene (where they introduce the Villain for VENOM 2), I want to see Hardy and Williams play against (name deleted so as not to spoil) as the new Villain - that might be cool!
So, I'm "in" for Venom. It was "good enough" and I will come back for the next installment - and based on the Box Office of the opening weekend, there WILL BE a next installment.
Letter Grade: B
7 (out of 10) stars and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
Clima - Beautifully simple
Weather and Utilities
App
### Best Weather App or Widget (Winner of 2014 Overall Awards) - Best Mobile App Awards Featured...
Sarah (7798 KP) rated Venom (2018) in Movies
Nov 1, 2018
Much better than expected
Considering some of the terrible critics reviews for this I was expecting it to be horrendous, but for the most part it was actually quite enjoyable.
Tom Hardy makes this film. He is fantastic as Eddie Brock and Venom, even if he does go a little ott cringey in parts. He really injects some much needed humour and likeability into this film, without him this really would have been terrible. Some of the CGI is patchy in parts and the final fight scene is overwhelming due to the sheer amount of CGI going on. There's some dodgy editing and an even dodgier script, and the ending feels rather rushed. Riz Ahmed is a great actor but vastly underused, and to echo every other reviews Michelle Williams is absolutely awful. She contributed nothing other than major irritation for the entire film.
I'm not a massive comic person but do recall Venom from comics and some of the earlier Spiderman cartoons, and I'm actually fairly impressed with this origin story and how Venom has been portrayed. Let's face it, they couldn't get much worse than what came out in Spiderman 3. Whilst this film has a lot of faults, it's still very entertaining.
I do wish they'd given this a proper Marvel film though. It already comes across as quite dark, and I think this could've been fantastic had they given it a Deadpool type makeover.
Tom Hardy makes this film. He is fantastic as Eddie Brock and Venom, even if he does go a little ott cringey in parts. He really injects some much needed humour and likeability into this film, without him this really would have been terrible. Some of the CGI is patchy in parts and the final fight scene is overwhelming due to the sheer amount of CGI going on. There's some dodgy editing and an even dodgier script, and the ending feels rather rushed. Riz Ahmed is a great actor but vastly underused, and to echo every other reviews Michelle Williams is absolutely awful. She contributed nothing other than major irritation for the entire film.
I'm not a massive comic person but do recall Venom from comics and some of the earlier Spiderman cartoons, and I'm actually fairly impressed with this origin story and how Venom has been portrayed. Let's face it, they couldn't get much worse than what came out in Spiderman 3. Whilst this film has a lot of faults, it's still very entertaining.
I do wish they'd given this a proper Marvel film though. It already comes across as quite dark, and I think this could've been fantastic had they given it a Deadpool type makeover.
Superconsumers: A Simple, Speedy, and Sustainable Path to Superior Growth
Book
Pork dorks. Craftsters. American Girl fans. Despite their different tastes, these eclectic diehards...
business