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TacoDave (3550 KP) rated Wonder Park (2019) in Movies
Mar 18, 2019
Kind of inoffensive? (1 more)
Animation is fine
The plot (2 more)
The concept
The execution
Horrible Park
Contains spoilers, click to show
I have five kids. So I've seen a ton of kids' movies. Some are good, some are bad, and some are meh. "Wonder Park" falls completely and stubbornly into the bottom range of Meh. It's not so bad that you hate yourself for watching it, but it isn't even interesting enough to hold your attention for the 80-minute runtime.
"Wonder Park" is about an imaginary amusement park called Wonderland (they never explain the discrepancy in name versus the name of the movie) invented by a young girl. She talks about the park, she draws pictures of it, she makes models of it, and she creates new rides with the help of her mom.
Unfortunately, in a real downer of a plotline, her mom gets sick with an unnamed illness and has to go away to see specialists somewhere. This makes the girl depressed, which makes her stop using her imagination, which makes her stop caring about Wonderland.
Then, in a situation that makes no sense, she hops off of a bus on the way to Math Camp, takes off on her own through the woods, and stumbles onto a real-life version of Wonderland run by real talking animals. Except there's a problem: Wonderland is being destroyed by a big black cloud and a sea of stuffed monkeys.
The girl eventually realizes (duh!) that the black cloud is basically her sadness, and to save the park she has to learn to use her imagination again. So she does. Then she leaves the park, goes back home, and her mom is magically better from the illness and everyone presumably lives happily ever after.
It's a neat concept (kid creates amusement park!) with bad execution, a terrible story, and too much depression for a kids' movie. Plus it wraps up too neatly. And it isn't funny. And I literally almost fell asleep watching it.
If you have to see a family movie, you can do a lot better than this one. I wouldn't even recommend renting it from Redbox. It is that bland and inoffensive.
"Wonder Park" is about an imaginary amusement park called Wonderland (they never explain the discrepancy in name versus the name of the movie) invented by a young girl. She talks about the park, she draws pictures of it, she makes models of it, and she creates new rides with the help of her mom.
Unfortunately, in a real downer of a plotline, her mom gets sick with an unnamed illness and has to go away to see specialists somewhere. This makes the girl depressed, which makes her stop using her imagination, which makes her stop caring about Wonderland.
Then, in a situation that makes no sense, she hops off of a bus on the way to Math Camp, takes off on her own through the woods, and stumbles onto a real-life version of Wonderland run by real talking animals. Except there's a problem: Wonderland is being destroyed by a big black cloud and a sea of stuffed monkeys.
The girl eventually realizes (duh!) that the black cloud is basically her sadness, and to save the park she has to learn to use her imagination again. So she does. Then she leaves the park, goes back home, and her mom is magically better from the illness and everyone presumably lives happily ever after.
It's a neat concept (kid creates amusement park!) with bad execution, a terrible story, and too much depression for a kids' movie. Plus it wraps up too neatly. And it isn't funny. And I literally almost fell asleep watching it.
If you have to see a family movie, you can do a lot better than this one. I wouldn't even recommend renting it from Redbox. It is that bland and inoffensive.
Dianne Robbins (1738 KP) rated Still Alice (2015) in Movies
Mar 21, 2019
Kristin Stewart's character (3 more)
Alec Baldwin's character
Not true to the book
Watered-down Chen I read the book, I was immersed
Very disappointing
Contains spoilers, click to show
When I read the book, I was immersed with what it was like to have early onset Alzheimer's disease. It was horrifying and painful and I could understand the painful decisions Alice made and the complexity and beauty of the betrayal of her husband. None of this was portrayed in the movie. One of the most terrifying scenes in the book is when Alice mistakes a brown throw rug as a hole in the floor and is too frightened to get near it to answer her door or walk to her bathroom. She could not understand the texture of the rug and that she could simply walk across it. Instead, she curled up in fear and urinating on herself while waiting hours or days for someone to rescue her. Early onset Alzheimer's and the physical and psychological symptoms were not described as well as they were in the book so the film lacked real drama. Also, the relationships between Alice and her husband, Alice and her children, especially Kristin Stewart's character were extremely vague, so they didn't really make sense in the movie.
The only good thing in the film was Julienne Moore's performance. Even though the script was extremely watered down, Moore did the best she could with the material. If they had included more of what was in the book, Moore would have shined. She's an amazing actress and this role was meant for her. It's a shame the script didn't allow her to perform her heart out, which she would have done given the chance.
I'm disgusted by either the screenwriter or director who chose to leave out the most poignant aspects of the book and in their, and all filmmakers, choice to dumb down movies to appeal to the American public by always finishing with a happy ending. There is beauty in pain. There is beauty in death. There is beauty is release. Filmmakers should know that.
The only good thing in the film was Julienne Moore's performance. Even though the script was extremely watered down, Moore did the best she could with the material. If they had included more of what was in the book, Moore would have shined. She's an amazing actress and this role was meant for her. It's a shame the script didn't allow her to perform her heart out, which she would have done given the chance.
I'm disgusted by either the screenwriter or director who chose to leave out the most poignant aspects of the book and in their, and all filmmakers, choice to dumb down movies to appeal to the American public by always finishing with a happy ending. There is beauty in pain. There is beauty in death. There is beauty is release. Filmmakers should know that.
Fred (860 KP) rated Love, Death & Robots in TV
Mar 24, 2019
A Heavy Metal reboot? I'm in!
This is an anthology series, airing on Netflix. Originally, it was going to be a theatrical reboot of the Heavy Metal animated movies, but became a series instead. It's split into 18 animated shorts (well, 17 & one mostly live-action) with an average length of about 10 minutes or so each. Unlike the original Heavy Metal movie, there is nothing tying the shorts together, like the Loc-nar.
I want to say, overall, the series is great. Most of the animation is great. Some of it, like in the short "The Witness" is so realistic, you'll think you're watching actual film. However, there are some shorts where the animation is done in the choppy, crappy CGI-drawn animation & this takes away from them. Just like the original Heavy Metal, some shorts work, some don't. Fortunately, most of them work, overall. Some have problems with their endings. They seem to either have no ending, or they're just not satisfying enough. I kind of wish they were 20 minutes each. But there are also some where the ending is the best part.
My favorite short is probably "Three Robots", which is about...3 robots. They're "taking a vacation" through an apocalyptic wasteland. It's funny & smart. My least favorite is probably "When the Yogurt Took Over", which is about...sentient yogurt. Fortunately, this one is also the shortest of them. Funny enough, both of these shorts were written by the same writer.
I see people complaining about the show's sexism towards women. Yes, this is a problem. But a minor one. The show does have fan service, especially in the short "The Witness" I mentioned. There's nudity just for the sake of having nudity. I feel that although in this day & age, in America, this is frowned upon, it fits with these shorts. It's not like it's non-stop nudity, it's just here & there. It also fits with the Heavy Metal series & I'm happy that it's there.
I could talk about each short separately, but I don't think they need to be. You can watch the entire series in a few hours & it's worth it. So what you waiting for?
I want to say, overall, the series is great. Most of the animation is great. Some of it, like in the short "The Witness" is so realistic, you'll think you're watching actual film. However, there are some shorts where the animation is done in the choppy, crappy CGI-drawn animation & this takes away from them. Just like the original Heavy Metal, some shorts work, some don't. Fortunately, most of them work, overall. Some have problems with their endings. They seem to either have no ending, or they're just not satisfying enough. I kind of wish they were 20 minutes each. But there are also some where the ending is the best part.
My favorite short is probably "Three Robots", which is about...3 robots. They're "taking a vacation" through an apocalyptic wasteland. It's funny & smart. My least favorite is probably "When the Yogurt Took Over", which is about...sentient yogurt. Fortunately, this one is also the shortest of them. Funny enough, both of these shorts were written by the same writer.
I see people complaining about the show's sexism towards women. Yes, this is a problem. But a minor one. The show does have fan service, especially in the short "The Witness" I mentioned. There's nudity just for the sake of having nudity. I feel that although in this day & age, in America, this is frowned upon, it fits with these shorts. It's not like it's non-stop nudity, it's just here & there. It also fits with the Heavy Metal series & I'm happy that it's there.
I could talk about each short separately, but I don't think they need to be. You can watch the entire series in a few hours & it's worth it. So what you waiting for?
Sam (74 KP) rated Are We All Lemmings and Snowflakes? in Books
Mar 27, 2019
Within the first page, I was in love with this book. I love how Holly Bourne’s books don’t rely on romance to move the plot, and that is why she is one of my favourite authors.
Are We All Lemmings And Snowflakes is perfect if you enjoyed Juno Dawson’s Clean or Ned Vizzini’s It’s Kind of a Funny Story. It’s a bit of a mashup of the two but also manages to still remain original and unpredictable.
The story follows Olive as she stays in a ‘camp’ for people with mental illnesses. It’s set in a big stately home that has alpacas. ALPACAS! I promise I didn’t love the setting just because of the alpacas, but they did definitely improve the story.
The plot started off really quickly, which I wasn’t sure on to begin with, but then I could understand why. I’m used to novels with a build up before the main event, but this jumped straight to sending Olive to the therapy place, and I quite liked that. It meant that there wasn’t too much focus on why she was going there, and her story was more about her journey to getting better.
I enjoyed this even more than I enjoyed It Only Happens in The Movies, which I didn’t expect. I was completely gripped and felt a personal connection to every single character.
The mix of different people in the novel really shows how mental illness can affect anyone, no matter where people are from. It showed a broad spectrum of illnesses, while also fighting the stigmas they all have.
Let’s move on to the ending. When I was reading reviews for Are We All Lemmings And Snowflakes, I saw a lot of negativity about the ending. I’m not going to discuss what happens, but I feel that it really worked. A lot of people say it feels abrupt, but I feel that it fits the plot much better than a long, drawn out ending. If you loved the ending to Clean by Juno Dawson, you will love how this has been finished off.
Overall, I found this book amazing, and I can’t wait to pick up another novel by Holly Bourne.
Are We All Lemmings And Snowflakes is perfect if you enjoyed Juno Dawson’s Clean or Ned Vizzini’s It’s Kind of a Funny Story. It’s a bit of a mashup of the two but also manages to still remain original and unpredictable.
The story follows Olive as she stays in a ‘camp’ for people with mental illnesses. It’s set in a big stately home that has alpacas. ALPACAS! I promise I didn’t love the setting just because of the alpacas, but they did definitely improve the story.
The plot started off really quickly, which I wasn’t sure on to begin with, but then I could understand why. I’m used to novels with a build up before the main event, but this jumped straight to sending Olive to the therapy place, and I quite liked that. It meant that there wasn’t too much focus on why she was going there, and her story was more about her journey to getting better.
I enjoyed this even more than I enjoyed It Only Happens in The Movies, which I didn’t expect. I was completely gripped and felt a personal connection to every single character.
The mix of different people in the novel really shows how mental illness can affect anyone, no matter where people are from. It showed a broad spectrum of illnesses, while also fighting the stigmas they all have.
Let’s move on to the ending. When I was reading reviews for Are We All Lemmings And Snowflakes, I saw a lot of negativity about the ending. I’m not going to discuss what happens, but I feel that it really worked. A lot of people say it feels abrupt, but I feel that it fits the plot much better than a long, drawn out ending. If you loved the ending to Clean by Juno Dawson, you will love how this has been finished off.
Overall, I found this book amazing, and I can’t wait to pick up another novel by Holly Bourne.
Andy K (10821 KP) rated The Tree of Life (2011) in Movies
Apr 19, 2019
Challenge yourself. Give this a watch!
I have to admit to not having seen many films directed by Terrence Malick. Not by choice, just hadn't gotten around to it. I watched The Thin Red Line when it was released, but thought it was inferior to Saving Private Ryan which was released around the same time. I will give a rewatch soon.
I saw another review which said to describe this film would be like trying to describe the color blue to someone who was blind. A basically impossible task.
The easiest way for me would be to mention other movies, so if you took parts of 2001: A Space Odyssey, Mother!, Revolutionary Road and Stand By Me you might start to come close to the interesting weave of imagery and story which conjoin this film.
Loosely speaking, it's about a family with 3 young boys in Texas in the 1950s. Their relationships, their troubles, their triumphs, the small insignificant moments in their lives combined with the very important ones. Throw in scenes of the creation of the universe, dinosaurs and unusual images of the Earth itself you'll finally start to maybe understand the complexity of this film.
Of course, this is a film like 2001 or Mother in which some will say it is crap or there is no meaning beyond what is displayed onscreen, but I would beg to differ. I respect everyone's opinions, but strive to seek out films that make me think a little and make me ponder during and after the end credits are complete and this film will do that for sure.
I am not a religious person, but you don't need to be to appreciate the vivid imagery in this film. I believe Malick supports differing views whether you believe in God or not.
In short, in a world of summer blockbusters just beyond the horizon, I would challenge you to enjoy those films as they have their place, but also challenge yourself with something rich.
I know I will be finding Days of Heaven and Badlands to get more Malick in the weeks ahead.
I saw another review which said to describe this film would be like trying to describe the color blue to someone who was blind. A basically impossible task.
The easiest way for me would be to mention other movies, so if you took parts of 2001: A Space Odyssey, Mother!, Revolutionary Road and Stand By Me you might start to come close to the interesting weave of imagery and story which conjoin this film.
Loosely speaking, it's about a family with 3 young boys in Texas in the 1950s. Their relationships, their troubles, their triumphs, the small insignificant moments in their lives combined with the very important ones. Throw in scenes of the creation of the universe, dinosaurs and unusual images of the Earth itself you'll finally start to maybe understand the complexity of this film.
Of course, this is a film like 2001 or Mother in which some will say it is crap or there is no meaning beyond what is displayed onscreen, but I would beg to differ. I respect everyone's opinions, but strive to seek out films that make me think a little and make me ponder during and after the end credits are complete and this film will do that for sure.
I am not a religious person, but you don't need to be to appreciate the vivid imagery in this film. I believe Malick supports differing views whether you believe in God or not.
In short, in a world of summer blockbusters just beyond the horizon, I would challenge you to enjoy those films as they have their place, but also challenge yourself with something rich.
I know I will be finding Days of Heaven and Badlands to get more Malick in the weeks ahead.
TacoDave (3550 KP) rated Avengers: Endgame (2019) in Movies
Apr 26, 2019
Cast (3 more)
Humor
Story
Epic Scale
Almost a perfect movie
Contains spoilers, click to show
I just got out of Avengers: Endgame. This will have minor spoilers, but nothing related to the plot.
If you read my review of Captain Marvel, you'll see that I was underwhelmed because they didn't really explain her powers or weaknesses. Avengers: Endgame is exciting, funny, rich, and fantastic, full of great callbacks to earlier MCU movies and references to things we hadn't heard about it a while.
And yet... Here comes Captain Marvel. Again, her powers aren't explained. She doesn't help much until the last 20 minutes, and in those minutes she is seemingly invincible. Because we don't know what can hurt her, the stakes are minimal. It's an invincible woman punching an invincible man and there isn't really an expectation of anything.
But then she gets hit. And someone says "She has backup" or "She has friends" or something similar, and then we see almost every female character from the MCU come behind her to help.
I literally don't care if a superhero is male or female. It doesn't matter. But by forcing scene into the film, it is a reminder that Captain Marvel = Girl Power!!! and it pulled me right out of the film. It was an unnecessary political statement in the midst of a galatic battle. And I hated it.
I'm pro-woman. I'm pro-man. I think both sexes have unique attributes and abilities and features. But trying to say "The women have her back!" was, again, like I felt the directors sitting next to me in the theater, poking me in the ribs, saying "Look at the woke subtext!!!"
It isn't necessary. It is dumb. Let the heroes - all of them - have moments of strength and weakness. Imagine if there was a hero who suddenly called on the name of God and a big cross appeared behind them and the hand of God came down and helped them. That's the kind of heavy-handedness (pun intended) it felt like.
Go see the movie. It's great. But that one bit really soured the end of the movie for me, reminding me that it was a fictional story set in modern times. Why?
If you read my review of Captain Marvel, you'll see that I was underwhelmed because they didn't really explain her powers or weaknesses. Avengers: Endgame is exciting, funny, rich, and fantastic, full of great callbacks to earlier MCU movies and references to things we hadn't heard about it a while.
And yet... Here comes Captain Marvel. Again, her powers aren't explained. She doesn't help much until the last 20 minutes, and in those minutes she is seemingly invincible. Because we don't know what can hurt her, the stakes are minimal. It's an invincible woman punching an invincible man and there isn't really an expectation of anything.
But then she gets hit. And someone says "She has backup" or "She has friends" or something similar, and then we see almost every female character from the MCU come behind her to help.
I literally don't care if a superhero is male or female. It doesn't matter. But by forcing scene into the film, it is a reminder that Captain Marvel = Girl Power!!! and it pulled me right out of the film. It was an unnecessary political statement in the midst of a galatic battle. And I hated it.
I'm pro-woman. I'm pro-man. I think both sexes have unique attributes and abilities and features. But trying to say "The women have her back!" was, again, like I felt the directors sitting next to me in the theater, poking me in the ribs, saying "Look at the woke subtext!!!"
It isn't necessary. It is dumb. Let the heroes - all of them - have moments of strength and weakness. Imagine if there was a hero who suddenly called on the name of God and a big cross appeared behind them and the hand of God came down and helped them. That's the kind of heavy-handedness (pun intended) it felt like.
Go see the movie. It's great. But that one bit really soured the end of the movie for me, reminding me that it was a fictional story set in modern times. Why?
Neon's Nerd Nexus (360 KP) rated Climax (2018) in Movies
May 13, 2019
Does it satisfy?
#climax is a highly #depressing character study/a stomach churning look into darker human traits. As a huge #gasparnoe #fan I know his work is often dissmissed for being vulgar, #discusting, explicit, grotesque & pretentious but I actually find him to be a master of portraying human #emotion, relationships, #sex & #violence truthfully, realisticly & passionatly on screen. Climax is no diffrent & a fantastic mash up of #horror & #musical with such raw style/talent its hard not to get lost in its harsh madness. We are introduced to a diverse range or characters all with intricatly woven personalities & surrounded by books/movies that give us as an insite into Noes inspirations as a film maker & a taste of whats to come later. We learn from this that every one has thier own fears/problems, is searching for happines or has pent up anger, #fetishes, predatory traits, innocence, #passion, #lust or desires. They all also seem to use #dance as an escape, a display of emotion/personality, to make a statement or to evolve, #empower or rebell too. What follows is a simple story of what happens when #drugs are added in to this mix. Kind of like a messed up social experiment the #drugs highten personslity traits, magnify social problems & intensify eratic behaviours/emotions sending people spiriling out of cotroll. Just watching this group self distruct is nausiating & gaspar manages to filp from #happy into an atmospheric, unnerving real life horror movie with terrifying situations many of us have actually experienced before. Filmed in long takes & acompanied by such an impressive soundtrack & #beautiful cinimatohraphy the work gone into this film is simply stunning & much like a flawless dance routine itself. Sex plays a big part here too & as the dancers frequently use #sex/#sexually to express themselves we start to see the likening of dance to the act of vilolence as the #sexual tension ramps up with things like #trust, temptation, jelousy, infatuation, #passion, aression, manipulation, betrayal & animalistic urges present in both acts. A stunningly intricate piece of work that left my #heart pounding/my emotions attacked proving again that Gaspar really is an #artist.
Neon's Nerd Nexus (360 KP) rated Us (2019) in Movies
May 13, 2019
A stab in the dark
#usmovie is a powerful, #political & psychological #horror that has so many strong messages to convay that it constantly intimates & frightens the viewer in ways that most mainstream horror films simply can't comprehend. ?THIS #REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS? #jordanpeele manages to do it again this time around & while not quite to the quality of #getout #us manages to shine with its impressive direction & nerve shattering soundtrack. To start i want to talk about the messages that I think came across to me while viewing Us. For most of its runtime you could be fooled into thinking Peele has made a simple but very decent #80s #nostalgia/home invasion/#slasher movie but once we hit the final act it almost tests you to see how much of the finer details you been paying attention to by hitting you with the overall message its been trying to convey. This world is falling apart at the seems & we are the ones responsible, we create imaginary #borders, distance/alienate ourselves from one another day by day, weve stoped comunicating, #loving trusting in one another & we gradually grow our hatred & fuel our #social awkwardness with technology. Its highly #depressing stuff & when it finally sinks in this is whats at the movies core & how it relates so well to the world today the burden of it ways heavy as you leave the cinema. Cutting ties with one another is a strong theme here as well as how lack of comunication, childhood trauma & inner #demons can become toxic/contagious & lead to the destruction of a family. Acting is simply phenomenal with #LupitaNyongo giving a performance so nerve shattering yet so humble that she deserves an award for sure. Its not a flawless movie however as does have flaws, its a little drawn out at times & when the film feels the need to talk you through & explain itself i found it a little tedious but that being said it accomplishes a perfect balance of #comedy, horror & seriousness with a spine tingling score & #gorgeous cinematography making it well worth experiencing. #odeon #odeonlimitless #filmbuff #filmcritic #friyay #weekend #scary #black #gore #trump #america #usa
Neon's Nerd Nexus (360 KP) rated Triple Frontier (2019) in Movies
May 13, 2019
Triple threat
#tripplefrontier is a slick #film that at its depest focuses on the casualties & sacrafises that five mens obbsessions, greed & selfishness have on all the people they encounter. Bar #apostle & #cargo ive not really enjoyed any of the #netflix movies but seeing the impressive cast & equaly impressive director attached to tripple frontier i really couldnt pass this one up & ive got to say i was very impressed. Acting is great all round with #benafflek & #oscarisaac taking the front seat here. I was also #excited to see #garretthedlund in this but sadly his character isnt given much screentime at all or explored enough. Affleck has the most intresting character a father that at first seems like an all round good guy until we start to see the cracks in his personality housing traits such as neglect, coldness, #obbsession, greed, #addiction & agressive streaks. Watching him change from the weak man to this #heartless, job adict, selfish yet highly trained person is engrosing & helps ramp up tension with a certain unpredictability. Group dinamic is also a joy to watch & the #relationships they have with each other are belivable & help the viewer form a nice connection with them all. Some solid metaphors of how much a life costs & how #america takes whatever they want from people regardless of the effects or casualties it has are subley weaved in here at points. Themes of how #combat effects individuals mentaly, how a job in the #specialforces fails on the risk vs reward scale forcing many to seek higher paid mercinary work instead & also alot about trust/reliability in #hostile situations not just with unknowns but in #friendships too. Shot impressibly there are some #beautiful establishing shots & some #gorgeous camera work too (especially during the firefights & car chases). Sets are all visually pleasing to the eye & locations feel varied & full of life/hostility. Cgi is belivable & the soundtrack is memorable also. Tension is great giving you the #feeling that somethings about to go wrong at every turn & the action is exilirating. While nothing particually new its a very well made film thats certainly sets the bar for Netflix films to follow. #ciniphile #filmbuff
Neon's Nerd Nexus (360 KP) rated Captain Marvel (2019) in Movies
May 13, 2019
Captain Mehvel
#captainmarvel isnt a bad movie its just not a very #super one, instead feeling hollow & lacking in excitement & wow factor. I was actually really #hyped for this movie but at just 40 minutes in I was not only bored but feeling extreamly exhausted. Feeling like a strange mix of #powerrangers, #buffythevampireslayer & a #startrek episode from the #90s Captain Marvel certainly feels tone wise very different to other #marvel films. This i found to be a blessing & a curse leading to the style a lot of the time coming across as outdated/low budget & also made the film seem silly ruining all the serious plot points & making characters feel very out of place. Another problem i had was the #nostalgia bombardment it becomes so distracting to the point where i felt like i was watching a #PeterKay stand up show "remember this? remember that? wasnt this good?" etc. #brielarson & #judelaw stand out acting wise yet i feel we dont really get to know their characters intricately enough, meaning when the films final act hits i wasnt emotionally invested in either of them or the struggles they have overcome & internal progress they had made felt a bit flat/less exciting. Theres a cool theme explored about people & how we never give up no matter how many times we are knocked down but this was possibly the only time i felt the #film going deeper or in a unique direction. Action is done well with some awesome sound design but again there's nothing incredible or that memorable its all just ok completly watchable stuff really. Now don't get me wrong it is very well made (as you would expect) the special effects are stellar as are the fantastic costume designs, the score is electrifying & the soundtrack is really #fun. I think the problem with this movie is that it has to fit & tie all the other movies together while bringing us this cool character & because of this it suffers as a #film feeling more like filler until #avengersendgame. Theres no omph, wowness, interesting relationships, engrossing story or high stake moments that make you stand up & shout HELL YEAH! its just very Captain Meh-vel. #wonderwoman did it better. #disney #mcu #avengers #stanlee #superhero #nationalwomensday