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Lee (2222 KP) rated Nativity Rocks! (2018) in Movies
Nov 25, 2018
Another disappointing sequel
The original Nativity movie is a huge Christmas favourite in the Boardman household. It's one of the first seasonal Blu-ray's to get played each year, along with the soundtrack too. The second and third movie are thought of nowhere near as highly though. I managed to sleep through most of one of them at the cinema, and just got bored and angry at the other. My daughter on the other hand, likes all of them. So, me being the dutiful dad, decided to go along with her to see the latest offering, Nativity Rocks!
Simply put, this sits somewhere between number 2 and 3 in terms of awfulness. There isn't a single remaining original cast member, and all of what made the original movie so enjoyable is now completely lost. The thing about this one is that it is even more muddled than previous movies. There is so much going on, so many plot threads quickly introduced that nothing ever gets explored enough. Leaping from scene to scene, to the point where you don't have enough time to care about any of them. There's a story about Syrian refugees and a Syrian father and son getting separated, a boy whose parents are so caught up with work that they're neglecting him, homelessness, not to mention all the school nativity stuff. So many famous faces cropping up too and all needing their screen time. Then suddenly, right at the end they put on a big nativity show, making you wonder how on earth they had time to plan and rehearse any of it!
Luckily, my daughter agreed that this wasn't very good so even if they decide to keep churning these out, at least I won't have to go and see them.
Simply put, this sits somewhere between number 2 and 3 in terms of awfulness. There isn't a single remaining original cast member, and all of what made the original movie so enjoyable is now completely lost. The thing about this one is that it is even more muddled than previous movies. There is so much going on, so many plot threads quickly introduced that nothing ever gets explored enough. Leaping from scene to scene, to the point where you don't have enough time to care about any of them. There's a story about Syrian refugees and a Syrian father and son getting separated, a boy whose parents are so caught up with work that they're neglecting him, homelessness, not to mention all the school nativity stuff. So many famous faces cropping up too and all needing their screen time. Then suddenly, right at the end they put on a big nativity show, making you wonder how on earth they had time to plan and rehearse any of it!
Luckily, my daughter agreed that this wasn't very good so even if they decide to keep churning these out, at least I won't have to go and see them.
Lenard (726 KP) rated The Lion King (2019) in Movies
Jul 28, 2019
The short review: This film is a crowd pleasing movie for fans of the original animated film. This hits all the highlights you love about the first version.
The longer version: It does bring up an interesting point. Mufasa teaches Simba about the Circle of Life where the death of the lions replenishes the savanna with nutrients. The movie shows a circle of life by beginning with the birth of a lion prince cub and ends with the birth of the cub prince of the original cub. In the middle of the movie, the pride of African prey, meerkat, warthog, galago (one of my favorite animals), aardvark, etc., talk about how they only see food and predator. This illustrates that the animals in the middle of a food web can only see the linear relations that affect their life. Only the apex predator have any perspective of the complete circle, the prey/secondary predators have a more limited view of life.
Secondly, the soundtrack is so iconic that when "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" started, I had completely forgotten that oh yeah this is the song that actually won the Academy Award. However, I never once believed this part of the film. It seemed that the filmmakers had to put it here, but they had not earned the major plot point. I did not believe that Simba and Nala were starting to fall into love with each other. Maybe I had started to drift off into a timeline of the songs that had won Best Original Song, but still this is a major moment in the film and it needs to cohere. Unfortunately, though the film is beautiful and has great cinematography from Caleb Deschanel, it needed a much better story to work in "live action."
The longer version: It does bring up an interesting point. Mufasa teaches Simba about the Circle of Life where the death of the lions replenishes the savanna with nutrients. The movie shows a circle of life by beginning with the birth of a lion prince cub and ends with the birth of the cub prince of the original cub. In the middle of the movie, the pride of African prey, meerkat, warthog, galago (one of my favorite animals), aardvark, etc., talk about how they only see food and predator. This illustrates that the animals in the middle of a food web can only see the linear relations that affect their life. Only the apex predator have any perspective of the complete circle, the prey/secondary predators have a more limited view of life.
Secondly, the soundtrack is so iconic that when "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" started, I had completely forgotten that oh yeah this is the song that actually won the Academy Award. However, I never once believed this part of the film. It seemed that the filmmakers had to put it here, but they had not earned the major plot point. I did not believe that Simba and Nala were starting to fall into love with each other. Maybe I had started to drift off into a timeline of the songs that had won Best Original Song, but still this is a major moment in the film and it needs to cohere. Unfortunately, though the film is beautiful and has great cinematography from Caleb Deschanel, it needed a much better story to work in "live action."
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BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated Rent: Filmed Live On Broadway (2008) in Movies
Jul 10, 2020
Brings the power of being in the theater
Every decade, it seems, Broadway produces a transcendent musical. In the 1970's, it was A CHORUS LINE, in the 1980's, it was LES MISERABLES. Jump to the 2000's, you have WICKED and, of course, the 2010's brought us HAMILTON.
The 1990's brought us a "rock musical" that focused on a global pandemic set against the backdrop of social protesting and racial injustices (sound familiar), this musical is Jonathan Larson's RENT.
Following (loosely) the plot of the 1896 opera LA BOHEME, RENT tells the tale of disaffected artists trying to live and love (and make rent) while living their lives the way they wish to live it. Writer Jonathan Larson (who passed, suddenly, the day before previews began) created a powerful, rock driven, story that is poignant, sad and hopeful all at the same time. The original Broadway production Iwhich I am bragging that I saw 2x with the original cast) brought such talent as Jesse L. Martin, Anthony Rapp, Taye Diggs and Idina Menzel to the forefront.
But...skip the film version of this musical (starring most of the original cast) that came out in 2005. It is purfunctuary and lifeless. Instead, seek out the 2008 RENT: FILMED LIVE ON BROADWAY. Like Hamilton, this is a filmed version of the stage show and is able to capture the power and emotion that only live theater can provide.
The cast in this production is outstanding - with the standout being (no surprise) a young Renee Elise Goldsberry (Angelica Schulyer in Hamilton) who shines brightly as Mimi.
Like Hamilton, Rent showcases the power - and purpose - of live theater. A place that I cannot wait to go to again in 2021.
Letter Grade: A-
8 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank (ofMarquis)
The 1990's brought us a "rock musical" that focused on a global pandemic set against the backdrop of social protesting and racial injustices (sound familiar), this musical is Jonathan Larson's RENT.
Following (loosely) the plot of the 1896 opera LA BOHEME, RENT tells the tale of disaffected artists trying to live and love (and make rent) while living their lives the way they wish to live it. Writer Jonathan Larson (who passed, suddenly, the day before previews began) created a powerful, rock driven, story that is poignant, sad and hopeful all at the same time. The original Broadway production Iwhich I am bragging that I saw 2x with the original cast) brought such talent as Jesse L. Martin, Anthony Rapp, Taye Diggs and Idina Menzel to the forefront.
But...skip the film version of this musical (starring most of the original cast) that came out in 2005. It is purfunctuary and lifeless. Instead, seek out the 2008 RENT: FILMED LIVE ON BROADWAY. Like Hamilton, this is a filmed version of the stage show and is able to capture the power and emotion that only live theater can provide.
The cast in this production is outstanding - with the standout being (no surprise) a young Renee Elise Goldsberry (Angelica Schulyer in Hamilton) who shines brightly as Mimi.
Like Hamilton, Rent showcases the power - and purpose - of live theater. A place that I cannot wait to go to again in 2021.
Letter Grade: A-
8 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank (ofMarquis)
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Halloween (2007) in Movies
Jun 3, 2021
The original Halloween is such a goddam incredible movie, that anytime the franchise has tried to stray too far from its roots, the wheels just come off. The psychic stuff in Halloween 5 just didn't work. The cult stuff in Halloween 6 just didn't work. The found footage stuff in Resurrection just didn't work. This time around, it's a remake of the original, directed by Rob Zombie. His particular brand of hateful characters and nasty dialogue can be effective in other corners of horror, but when applied to the Halloween template, you guessed it, it just doesn't work.
It has its moments - Malcolm McDowell is great as Dr Loomis, and the towering behemoth of a Michael Myers we get her is genuinely fucking terrifying. There's also a fine selection of genre icons here and there - Dee Wallace, Brad Dourif, Clint Howard, Ken Foree, Sybil Danning, Bill Moseley, Sid Haig, Danny Trejo, Danielle Harris - it's an impressive roster for sure.
All of this isn't enough to lift this remake above all of its problems however.
None of the characters are particularly likable, and it's off pacing make for a bloated experience, an issue that's further exacerbated by the more widely available Directors Cut, which further pans out its runtime with an horrifically unnecessary rape scene.
I can appreciate the decision to explore the origins of Michael, but the end results are very mixed. When the familiar stuff kicks off halfway through, it's actually kind of boring. It manages to ape the original at every turn, whilst simultaneously feeling disrespectful with it's token RZ tropes.
All in all, Halloween is a remake that I wouldn't take issue with, but the decision to put Zombie in the driver's seat results in a movie that doesn't feel like it belongs anywhere. An inferior re-tread in every aspect, that leaves a bitter after taste.
It has its moments - Malcolm McDowell is great as Dr Loomis, and the towering behemoth of a Michael Myers we get her is genuinely fucking terrifying. There's also a fine selection of genre icons here and there - Dee Wallace, Brad Dourif, Clint Howard, Ken Foree, Sybil Danning, Bill Moseley, Sid Haig, Danny Trejo, Danielle Harris - it's an impressive roster for sure.
All of this isn't enough to lift this remake above all of its problems however.
None of the characters are particularly likable, and it's off pacing make for a bloated experience, an issue that's further exacerbated by the more widely available Directors Cut, which further pans out its runtime with an horrifically unnecessary rape scene.
I can appreciate the decision to explore the origins of Michael, but the end results are very mixed. When the familiar stuff kicks off halfway through, it's actually kind of boring. It manages to ape the original at every turn, whilst simultaneously feeling disrespectful with it's token RZ tropes.
All in all, Halloween is a remake that I wouldn't take issue with, but the decision to put Zombie in the driver's seat results in a movie that doesn't feel like it belongs anywhere. An inferior re-tread in every aspect, that leaves a bitter after taste.
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Deadly Friend (1986) in Movies
Sep 14, 2020
Death By Basktetball
Deadly Friend- is a good movie. The best sence is the basketball kill. It was gory, horrorfying and terrorfying. Other than that this film is basically Frankenstien but instead of a monster its a robot. Which does turn into a monster.
The plot: Its plot follows a teenage computer prodigy who implants a robot's hardrive into the brain of his teenage neighbor after she is pronounced brain dead; the experiment proves successful, but she swiftly begins a killing spree in their neighborhood.
Originally, the film was a sci-fi thriller without any graphic scenes, with a bigger focus on plot and character development and a dark love story centering around the two main characters, which were not typical aspects of Craven's previous films. After Craven's original cut was shown to a test audience by Warner Bros., the audience criticized the lack of graphic, bloody violence and gore that Craven's other films included. Warner Bros. executive vice president Mark Canton and the film's producers then demanded script re-writes and re-shoots, which included filming gorier death scenes and nightmare sequences, similar to the ones from Craven's previous film, A Nightmare on Elm Street. Due to studio imposed re-shoots and re-editing, the film was drastically altered in post-production, losing much of the original plot and more scenes between characters, while other scenes, including more grisly deaths and a new ending, were added. This version was criticized by test audiences for containing too much graphic, bloody violence and gore.
In April 2014, an online petition for the release of the original cut was made.
Its a intresting movie see it for yourself and see if you like it.
The plot: Its plot follows a teenage computer prodigy who implants a robot's hardrive into the brain of his teenage neighbor after she is pronounced brain dead; the experiment proves successful, but she swiftly begins a killing spree in their neighborhood.
Originally, the film was a sci-fi thriller without any graphic scenes, with a bigger focus on plot and character development and a dark love story centering around the two main characters, which were not typical aspects of Craven's previous films. After Craven's original cut was shown to a test audience by Warner Bros., the audience criticized the lack of graphic, bloody violence and gore that Craven's other films included. Warner Bros. executive vice president Mark Canton and the film's producers then demanded script re-writes and re-shoots, which included filming gorier death scenes and nightmare sequences, similar to the ones from Craven's previous film, A Nightmare on Elm Street. Due to studio imposed re-shoots and re-editing, the film was drastically altered in post-production, losing much of the original plot and more scenes between characters, while other scenes, including more grisly deaths and a new ending, were added. This version was criticized by test audiences for containing too much graphic, bloody violence and gore.
In April 2014, an online petition for the release of the original cut was made.
Its a intresting movie see it for yourself and see if you like it.
Ross (3284 KP) Nov 26, 2018