Search
Search results
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Venom (2018) in Movies
Feb 14, 2020 (Updated Feb 14, 2020)
They Ain't Gonna Know What Hit 'em
Venom- was okay, i mean we finally got a venom movie. We finally got a good looking venom. We got a small cameo by she-venom which was nice, but hopefully in the sequel we get more than 5-10 seconds of screen time of she-venom. Also in the sequel we are getting carange, which was teased in the post-credit sence at the end of this movie, with Woody Harrison weird and fake red wig. Tom Hardy was a better eddie brock than Topher Grace. So thats good. Just feel like both Tom Hardy and Michelle Williams were both wasted in this film. Their are such both great/excellent actors, and their just wasted in this film.
The plot: Journalist Eddie Brock is trying to take down Carlton Drake, the notorious and brilliant founder of the Life Foundation. While investigating one of Drake's experiments, Eddie's body merges with the alien Venom -- leaving him with superhuman strength and power. Twisted, dark and fueled by rage, Venom tries to control the new and dangerous abilities that Eddie finds so intoxicating.
I cant really anything else about Venom, its just okay overall and hopefullt venom 2 is better.
The plot: Journalist Eddie Brock is trying to take down Carlton Drake, the notorious and brilliant founder of the Life Foundation. While investigating one of Drake's experiments, Eddie's body merges with the alien Venom -- leaving him with superhuman strength and power. Twisted, dark and fueled by rage, Venom tries to control the new and dangerous abilities that Eddie finds so intoxicating.
I cant really anything else about Venom, its just okay overall and hopefullt venom 2 is better.
Colin O'Donoghue recommended 12 Angry Men (1957) in Movies (curated)
Fred (860 KP) rated Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) in Movies
Jan 22, 2019
Spielberg's best
When people think of Spielberg's best, they'll either jump straight to Jaws or Schindler's List. While both are fantastic movies, there is one movie in my opinion, that is often forgotten & is truly his best. Close Encounters of the Third Kind. I first saw this as a kid, when I forced my parents to take me to see it on their movie night, while my 5 brothers were stuck at home being babysat by my Grandma.
Anyway, let's talk about the movie. From the beginning scene with the planes in the desert, you know you're in for something special. At the time I saw the movie, I was big into UFOs. I knew all the stories, all the alien types, all the photos. I even knew who Dr. Allen Hynek, who ran Project Blue Book, was & recognized him at the end of the film, where he makes a cameo. My dad, who was not into sci-fi & didn't believe in the supernatural, told me many times that this was one of his favorite films because "It could happen".
And that's part of the movie's appeal. It could happen. But it's Spielberg's direction of the actors that makes it seem even more real. The way Roy's family acts when all together is all too real & much like real people would act. Everyone in the film is great. If I had only one complaint about the movie, it would be that Roy's wife leaves him too quickly. It's almost like she doesn't even like him & is so quick to give up on him. In any case, she is played very well by Teri Garr. We meet a lot of strange people on the way too, who also have seen these UFOs, like the whistling guy, who saw Bigfoot once too. And he's believable. Again, it all seems like it could happen.
Then there are the special effects. Done by ILM, who had no peers at the time. The UFOs look like they're there & the Mothership at the end still drops my jaw. Throw in John Williams memorable score & you got movie magic. Whenever I think of this film, I get in the mood to watch it right away. And I usually do. I probably have seen this movie over 50 times & will watch it again & again. Close Encounters is Spielberg's best & my third favorite of all time
Anyway, let's talk about the movie. From the beginning scene with the planes in the desert, you know you're in for something special. At the time I saw the movie, I was big into UFOs. I knew all the stories, all the alien types, all the photos. I even knew who Dr. Allen Hynek, who ran Project Blue Book, was & recognized him at the end of the film, where he makes a cameo. My dad, who was not into sci-fi & didn't believe in the supernatural, told me many times that this was one of his favorite films because "It could happen".
And that's part of the movie's appeal. It could happen. But it's Spielberg's direction of the actors that makes it seem even more real. The way Roy's family acts when all together is all too real & much like real people would act. Everyone in the film is great. If I had only one complaint about the movie, it would be that Roy's wife leaves him too quickly. It's almost like she doesn't even like him & is so quick to give up on him. In any case, she is played very well by Teri Garr. We meet a lot of strange people on the way too, who also have seen these UFOs, like the whistling guy, who saw Bigfoot once too. And he's believable. Again, it all seems like it could happen.
Then there are the special effects. Done by ILM, who had no peers at the time. The UFOs look like they're there & the Mothership at the end still drops my jaw. Throw in John Williams memorable score & you got movie magic. Whenever I think of this film, I get in the mood to watch it right away. And I usually do. I probably have seen this movie over 50 times & will watch it again & again. Close Encounters is Spielberg's best & my third favorite of all time
Britt Smith (36 KP) rated Dredd (2012) in Movies
Mar 12, 2018 (Updated Mar 12, 2018)
Pure action (2 more)
True to the comic
MaMa
Yeah.
What's not to love here? A fan of the comic, I had the chance to see the movie in 3D and it is one of the best cinema experiences ever (and the best action to date). Carl Urban does absolute justice to the character, and the movie itself does Mega-City 1 right. If you haven't seen it, do yourself a favor.
Also, favorite female villain of all time goes to Ma-Ma. Best put by Lena Headey when she said "I think of her like an old great white shark who is just waiting for someone bigger and stronger to show up and kill her. She's ready for it. In fact, she can't wait for it to happen. And yet no one can get the job done. She's an addict, so she's dead in that way, but that last knock just hasn't come. This big, fat, scarred shark moving through the sea and everyone flees and she's like, 'Will someone just have the balls to do it? Please?'"
Also, favorite female villain of all time goes to Ma-Ma. Best put by Lena Headey when she said "I think of her like an old great white shark who is just waiting for someone bigger and stronger to show up and kill her. She's ready for it. In fact, she can't wait for it to happen. And yet no one can get the job done. She's an addict, so she's dead in that way, but that last knock just hasn't come. This big, fat, scarred shark moving through the sea and everyone flees and she's like, 'Will someone just have the balls to do it? Please?'"
LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013) in Movies
Sep 21, 2020
On par with the first movie, with the added benefit of looking like an actual film production and not a basement eyesore. Maintains the loose schema but ups the joke consistency and jovial absurdity at least five, maybe ten-fold. So if you had to pull me on it, I'd say this one is better. My biggest quibble is that it needed to shave off around fifteen minutes, and truthfully I have less qualms about the actual length as opposed to the steam all but fizzling out in the last act. Also helps that this leans much more into its setting and subject matter, aiming for some admittedly broad satire but no less accurate. A way better comedy movie let alone sequel than it has any right to be, and you all scared McKay away to mostly dull-arrowed political farces because he had the heart to offer us this. For shame. Funny as fuck most of the time, and I just love how lived-in and learned these performances are by actors who know their characters inside and out.
Hidden in Plain Sight: An Archaeology of Magic and the Cinema
Book
What does it mean to deWhat does it mean to describe cinematic effects as "movie magic," to compare...
David McK (3562 KP) rated The Matrix Resurrections (2021) in Movies
Feb 9, 2022 (Updated Oct 1, 2023)
Unnecessary sequel
Summer of 1999.
Pre Millennium.
Just at the start of our current high-tech always-on society.
And The Matrix was released, becoming hugely influential in the process and popularising the concept of 'bullet time'.
Both the sequels (Reloaded and Revolutions) were released during 'the year of the Matrix' in 2003, doubling down on the philosophical ponderings of the first movie (in particular, during Reloaded, with the whole still-to-this-day confusing Architect scenes), with Revolutions also seemingly leaving the trilogy with nowhere to go.
Until nearly 20 years later, when one of the two Wachowski siblings decided to resurrect both Neo and Trinity in this.
I's very much a film of two halves, with the first half in particular hugely self-referential (lots of nods and winks to the audience, and even clips from the earlier films shown on TV screens within the movie), while the second half settles down more into your standard action fare.
Whilst enjoyable enough, it lacks anything to match the sheer pizzaz of the first movie, or even the Freeway chase/burly brawl/chateau fight from the second or the Neo Vs Smith showdown in the third.
Pre Millennium.
Just at the start of our current high-tech always-on society.
And The Matrix was released, becoming hugely influential in the process and popularising the concept of 'bullet time'.
Both the sequels (Reloaded and Revolutions) were released during 'the year of the Matrix' in 2003, doubling down on the philosophical ponderings of the first movie (in particular, during Reloaded, with the whole still-to-this-day confusing Architect scenes), with Revolutions also seemingly leaving the trilogy with nowhere to go.
Until nearly 20 years later, when one of the two Wachowski siblings decided to resurrect both Neo and Trinity in this.
I's very much a film of two halves, with the first half in particular hugely self-referential (lots of nods and winks to the audience, and even clips from the earlier films shown on TV screens within the movie), while the second half settles down more into your standard action fare.
Whilst enjoyable enough, it lacks anything to match the sheer pizzaz of the first movie, or even the Freeway chase/burly brawl/chateau fight from the second or the Neo Vs Smith showdown in the third.
Lilyn G - Sci-Fi & Scary (91 KP) rated Battleship (2012) in Movies
Feb 7, 2018
Pure cheesy, gooey fun
Battleship is a guilty pleasure of mine. It’s pure cheesy fun. It’s got a great cast of actors who over-act their butts off in it. Pretty much everything in the movie is delightfully overdone. It might not be the most intellectually stimulating film, but if you need an excuse for popcorn and beer it’s perfect. It has a bit of a Starship Troopers feel to it, what with the bad dialogue and the aliens that look like bugs. Hell, it’s even got the token slightly odd-looking red-headed guy being a mouth-off.
It’s pretty much the perfect B-movie, except we got lucky this time and had decent actors and enough money for good special effects. I loved watching the alien ships moving around and getting ready to fire at things. I’m always able to get completely into the film and nothing about the CGI throws me off at all. The dialogue might be horrible, but the action is perfectly paced. It takes me about 40 minutes longer than the movie actually is to finish watching it. Simply because I go back and re-wind and re-watch my favorite parts constantly. And yes, it does have some proper battleship game scenes that will make you grin with nostalgia if you used to love the game.
Liam Neeson’s role isn’t much, but he gives the appropriate note of seriousness to the film. He really just has a bit role though. Alexander Skarsgård does a good job as Stone Hopper (and what kind of name is that?!). He’s the serious older brother, and the true hero that does everything he can. Rhianna didn’t exactly do a bang up job, but she sold her emotions rather well at a few key parts. Taylor Kitsch certainly does a great job as coming across as an immature punk who needs some sense knocked into him.
It’s interesting to note, whatever your reasoning for it might be, that the aliens don’t really seem to be overly destructive in Battleship. Everything they do seems very tactical and deliberate. They have the firepower to lay waste to everything, but they seem to be more able disabling and containment. At one point, when one of the destroyers put away its weapons, the alien ship lowers its weapons too. People die, but not nearly as many as you would expect. Given other events in the movie, I feel like they were trying to take over with as little damage as possible. Maybe they needed humans for slave labor?
Cool Tidbits: The wounded warriors you see in the rehabilitation center scene in Battleship? Actual wounded warriors. The old vets referenced in regards to the USS Missouri are vets that served on that ship. And Mick – who is completely awesome – is also played by a vet. Props to the producers of this movie for making sure to include so many veterans in it. I totally cheered near the end of the movie when all the veterans do the slow hero walk and it’s clear they’re ready to help.
Overall, Battleship is just a fun popcorn movie that doesn’t deserve the razzing it gets. As long as you don’t go into it expecting something highly intellectual or some ground-breaking work, you’ll enjoy yourself.
It’s pretty much the perfect B-movie, except we got lucky this time and had decent actors and enough money for good special effects. I loved watching the alien ships moving around and getting ready to fire at things. I’m always able to get completely into the film and nothing about the CGI throws me off at all. The dialogue might be horrible, but the action is perfectly paced. It takes me about 40 minutes longer than the movie actually is to finish watching it. Simply because I go back and re-wind and re-watch my favorite parts constantly. And yes, it does have some proper battleship game scenes that will make you grin with nostalgia if you used to love the game.
Liam Neeson’s role isn’t much, but he gives the appropriate note of seriousness to the film. He really just has a bit role though. Alexander Skarsgård does a good job as Stone Hopper (and what kind of name is that?!). He’s the serious older brother, and the true hero that does everything he can. Rhianna didn’t exactly do a bang up job, but she sold her emotions rather well at a few key parts. Taylor Kitsch certainly does a great job as coming across as an immature punk who needs some sense knocked into him.
It’s interesting to note, whatever your reasoning for it might be, that the aliens don’t really seem to be overly destructive in Battleship. Everything they do seems very tactical and deliberate. They have the firepower to lay waste to everything, but they seem to be more able disabling and containment. At one point, when one of the destroyers put away its weapons, the alien ship lowers its weapons too. People die, but not nearly as many as you would expect. Given other events in the movie, I feel like they were trying to take over with as little damage as possible. Maybe they needed humans for slave labor?
Cool Tidbits: The wounded warriors you see in the rehabilitation center scene in Battleship? Actual wounded warriors. The old vets referenced in regards to the USS Missouri are vets that served on that ship. And Mick – who is completely awesome – is also played by a vet. Props to the producers of this movie for making sure to include so many veterans in it. I totally cheered near the end of the movie when all the veterans do the slow hero walk and it’s clear they’re ready to help.
Overall, Battleship is just a fun popcorn movie that doesn’t deserve the razzing it gets. As long as you don’t go into it expecting something highly intellectual or some ground-breaking work, you’ll enjoy yourself.
Lucy Buglass (45 KP) rated The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part (2019) in Movies
Jun 20, 2019
5 years after the release of the first Lego Movie, these lovable characters are back with a brand new adventure. I had such a blast with the original so I was interested to see how they’d continue the story.
In The Lego Movie 2 the residents of Bricksburg are faced with a new threat, soon seeing the city they love destroyed by aliens from Duplo. This leaves them living in a wasteland with a brand new name; Apocalypseburg. Self explanatory really. Everyone was subsequently forced to toughen up and get on with it, except for Emmet (Chris Pratt) of course. He’s still his adorable, optimistic self, with hilarious results.
Emmet’s world is turned upside down when his friends are abducted, including Lucy/Wyldstyle (Elizabeth Banks), whom he cares about very deeply and everyone’s favourite broody superhero, Batman (Will Arnett). When the rest of the city refuses to help, Emmet embarks on a dangerous quest to rescue them and stop another apocalypse. As if one wasn’t bad enough.
Whilst not as strong as its predecessor, I still had a good time with The Lego Movie 2. The soundtrack in particular stood out to me, and I thought it really added to the overall narrative. New character Queen Watevra Wa’Nabi (Tiffany Haddish) stole the show for me, with her song ‘Not Evil’ being my favourite one. The lyrics are hilarious as she desperately tries to convince Lucy and the gang that she’s a kind, trustworthy person. Considering she kidnapped people, Lucy is certainly not convinced by this.
On his journey to save his friends, Emmet encounters a rugged, charming adventurer named Rex Dangervest (also voiced by Chris Pratt) and the two team up. Hilariously, Rex has pet velociraptors which is an obvious reference to Jurassic World, and something that tickled me throughout the film.
I was surprised at how well-written and clever the script was. Because of this, I believe audiences of all ages can enjoy it due to the array of cultural references and adult humour. It may be easy to write this off as ‘just a kid’s film’, but to me, it’s more than that. It’s a joy to watch with some genuine messages about self-reflection and the importance of friendship.
Much like the first film, The Lego Movie 2 also utilises visual gags where characters build things to escape sticky situations. I always admire the creative process behind this and it never fails to make me laugh, reminding me of all the crazy things I used to build when I still had my Lego sets. The film’s imagination knows no bounds, reinforcing the versatile nature of these toys. You can build anything if you put your mind to it.
Overall, I would recommend this film if you’re looking to switch off and be transported to a crazy world where Lego characters unite and get into adventures. It’s not a well polished, award-winning film, but that doesn’t matter. It’s a solid couple of hours worth of entertainment and fun for all the family. Sometimes that’s all that matters.
https://lucygoestohollywood.com/2019/02/28/%E2%99%AB-this-reviews-gonna-get-stuck-inside-your-%E2%99%AB-my-thoughts-on-the-lego-movie-2/
In The Lego Movie 2 the residents of Bricksburg are faced with a new threat, soon seeing the city they love destroyed by aliens from Duplo. This leaves them living in a wasteland with a brand new name; Apocalypseburg. Self explanatory really. Everyone was subsequently forced to toughen up and get on with it, except for Emmet (Chris Pratt) of course. He’s still his adorable, optimistic self, with hilarious results.
Emmet’s world is turned upside down when his friends are abducted, including Lucy/Wyldstyle (Elizabeth Banks), whom he cares about very deeply and everyone’s favourite broody superhero, Batman (Will Arnett). When the rest of the city refuses to help, Emmet embarks on a dangerous quest to rescue them and stop another apocalypse. As if one wasn’t bad enough.
Whilst not as strong as its predecessor, I still had a good time with The Lego Movie 2. The soundtrack in particular stood out to me, and I thought it really added to the overall narrative. New character Queen Watevra Wa’Nabi (Tiffany Haddish) stole the show for me, with her song ‘Not Evil’ being my favourite one. The lyrics are hilarious as she desperately tries to convince Lucy and the gang that she’s a kind, trustworthy person. Considering she kidnapped people, Lucy is certainly not convinced by this.
On his journey to save his friends, Emmet encounters a rugged, charming adventurer named Rex Dangervest (also voiced by Chris Pratt) and the two team up. Hilariously, Rex has pet velociraptors which is an obvious reference to Jurassic World, and something that tickled me throughout the film.
I was surprised at how well-written and clever the script was. Because of this, I believe audiences of all ages can enjoy it due to the array of cultural references and adult humour. It may be easy to write this off as ‘just a kid’s film’, but to me, it’s more than that. It’s a joy to watch with some genuine messages about self-reflection and the importance of friendship.
Much like the first film, The Lego Movie 2 also utilises visual gags where characters build things to escape sticky situations. I always admire the creative process behind this and it never fails to make me laugh, reminding me of all the crazy things I used to build when I still had my Lego sets. The film’s imagination knows no bounds, reinforcing the versatile nature of these toys. You can build anything if you put your mind to it.
Overall, I would recommend this film if you’re looking to switch off and be transported to a crazy world where Lego characters unite and get into adventures. It’s not a well polished, award-winning film, but that doesn’t matter. It’s a solid couple of hours worth of entertainment and fun for all the family. Sometimes that’s all that matters.
https://lucygoestohollywood.com/2019/02/28/%E2%99%AB-this-reviews-gonna-get-stuck-inside-your-%E2%99%AB-my-thoughts-on-the-lego-movie-2/
Sarah (7800 KP) rated Finding Steve McQueen (2019) in Movies
Nov 3, 2020
Not much of a heist
Finding Steve McQueen is a heist drama centring around a young man who idolises Steve McQueen, and follows him as he joins a gang of thieves as they plot to steal millions from President Nixon’s secret funds. This is loosely based around a true story and is told from the point of view of the gang’s getaway driver Harry Barber, with his McQueen inspired locks and mannerisms.
The tale of the 1972 heist is recounted by Barber (Travis Fimmel) to his girlfriend Molly Murphy (Rachael Taylor) in 1980, after having been on the run from the FBI for 8 years. This starts out as though it could be a rather fun and lighthearted heist movie, but I’m afraid despite it’s short 90 minute run time, it feels rather drawn out and dull. Right from the get go, the cinematography, directing style and just general look of this film just doesn’t feel right. It feels like it has been made for tv, it has that rather cheap look about it and sadly the camera angles and character styling do nothing but reinforce this. The CGI, whilst infrequent, is very bad and you can spot the green screen scenes a mile off. Even the car chase scene is lacklustre and unimpressive. You can tell that this hasn’t had a lot of money thrown at it.
The performances too I’m afraid are also rather lacking, although a large part of this is likely down to the often dodgy script that seems to enjoy ramming 70s references down our throats whilst being completely unconvincing about every other aspect of the story. I haven’t see much of Travis Fimmel, so I’m not sure if his goofy persona in this is his acting style or in character, but either way it doesn’t always work. Rachael Taylor’s Molly seems out of place and rather unlikeable and it’s only Forest Whitaker as FBI Agent Howard Lambert who comes out unscathed, playing a rather aloof and unfazed agent on the tail of the gang following the heist.
The heist itself is really the main problem here. Instead of being a heist movie, this plays out like a romance with a little bit of heist thrown in, and not a very exciting one at that. There are some moments of intrigue and fun when you see how the gang pulled the heist off and later on how they got caught, but apart from this it’s probably one of the dullest heists I’ve ever seen. Aside from a decent soundtrack, there is very little excitement in this. The motive for the heist also seems rather fuzzy and far fetched. Even the romance seems forced and wavers between being very fake and unconvincing to rather cringeworthy and cliched.
There’s also the question of whether this movie succeeds in finding Steve McQueen, and whilst it is undoubtedly a homage to the man himself, it is not a very successful one. It references all the right things but unfortunately struggles to get close to the man himself and as heist movies go, it may have done itself a disservice by trying to liken itself to McQueen and his successes. Overall I’m afraid this is a rather dull heist film that even with a low budget could’ve been much better.
The tale of the 1972 heist is recounted by Barber (Travis Fimmel) to his girlfriend Molly Murphy (Rachael Taylor) in 1980, after having been on the run from the FBI for 8 years. This starts out as though it could be a rather fun and lighthearted heist movie, but I’m afraid despite it’s short 90 minute run time, it feels rather drawn out and dull. Right from the get go, the cinematography, directing style and just general look of this film just doesn’t feel right. It feels like it has been made for tv, it has that rather cheap look about it and sadly the camera angles and character styling do nothing but reinforce this. The CGI, whilst infrequent, is very bad and you can spot the green screen scenes a mile off. Even the car chase scene is lacklustre and unimpressive. You can tell that this hasn’t had a lot of money thrown at it.
The performances too I’m afraid are also rather lacking, although a large part of this is likely down to the often dodgy script that seems to enjoy ramming 70s references down our throats whilst being completely unconvincing about every other aspect of the story. I haven’t see much of Travis Fimmel, so I’m not sure if his goofy persona in this is his acting style or in character, but either way it doesn’t always work. Rachael Taylor’s Molly seems out of place and rather unlikeable and it’s only Forest Whitaker as FBI Agent Howard Lambert who comes out unscathed, playing a rather aloof and unfazed agent on the tail of the gang following the heist.
The heist itself is really the main problem here. Instead of being a heist movie, this plays out like a romance with a little bit of heist thrown in, and not a very exciting one at that. There are some moments of intrigue and fun when you see how the gang pulled the heist off and later on how they got caught, but apart from this it’s probably one of the dullest heists I’ve ever seen. Aside from a decent soundtrack, there is very little excitement in this. The motive for the heist also seems rather fuzzy and far fetched. Even the romance seems forced and wavers between being very fake and unconvincing to rather cringeworthy and cliched.
There’s also the question of whether this movie succeeds in finding Steve McQueen, and whilst it is undoubtedly a homage to the man himself, it is not a very successful one. It references all the right things but unfortunately struggles to get close to the man himself and as heist movies go, it may have done itself a disservice by trying to liken itself to McQueen and his successes. Overall I’m afraid this is a rather dull heist film that even with a low budget could’ve been much better.