Search

Search only in certain items:

Alita: Battle Angel (2019)
Alita: Battle Angel (2019)
2019 | Action, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Great Design (1 more)
Good Action
Cheesy Dialogue (3 more)
Paper thin characters
Poor Performances
Distracting CGI main character
A cluttered poorly written movie with engaging action keeping it afloat
Alita battle angel is full of great action and a potentially interesting story that's let down by a substandard script. It follows Alita a cyborg rebuilt by Dr Dyson Igo ( a substandard performance from Cristoph Waltz) who has amnesia and must rediscover her past while on a quest to reach the mysterious floating city of Salem.
The first act of the movie is probably the strongest from a character perspective as we see Alita exploring this new world and building relationships with our central characters however on a dime that all changes. After observing Dr Igos mysterious nocturnal activities she unlocks some of her past discovering that she has unmatched fighting capabilities and suddenly becomes a wise cracking badass instead of this innocent girl and suddenly the action is centre stage.

Alita becomes a hunter warrior and participates in motor ball in order to reach Salem and defeat the baddies that want to capture her at all costs for the enigmatic nova up in the floating city. The action is well choreographed and while it does sometimes creep into the transformers/man of steel realm of headache inducing loud cluttered cgi infused battles for the most part they are exciting and tense as she battles larger and more experienced opponents. However after seeing Alita best even the strongest the tension in these fights wane as it becomes clearer and clearer she is in a league of of her own and her heartless ruthlessness disconnected me somewhat from sympathising with her as a character.

Fallen by the wayside in this deluge of action is the development of side characters and their relationships with Alita as well as the back story for the world. The father daughter dynamic is left shallow as is her relationship with Hugo who has a rather troubling occupation and Igo's ex wife who's collaborating with Salems spokesperson Vektor in order to get to Salem. None of these characters have enough time to develop their characters in order to give the audience much of an emotional connection that just leaves the movie feeling very stretched out and thin especially as the emotional connection with our heroine wanes.

The effects for the most part were good for the most part but Alita's CGI face didn't work for me at all at times it was over expressive and other times looked blank. It left me cringing at times when she spoke as the uncanny valley territory creeps ever closer. It just struck me as unnecessary and down right creepy feeling like a twisted sexual fantasy of a ultra innocent doe eyed girl who was also a killing machine. It was endlessly distracting and feel like it would be easier to connect with her as a character if she didn't loom so fake while everyone else felt completely real.

Going into this for some fun balls to the wall action you probably won't be too disappointed but looking for much depth here will be in vain as this never reaches the levels the ambitiously vast story aspires to get to
  
Death Note (2017)
Death Note (2017)
2017 | Drama
The premise (0 more)
The delivery (2 more)
The visual effects
Willem Dafoe
This premise had so much potential: the ability to write someone's name in a book and how they would die and then just watch it happen. Awesome.
However, this was wrongly painted as some sort of poisoned chalice and would lead the beholder to madness. If this was to be because of Ryuk's presence then this wasn't really carried out all that well. If it was meant to be "power corrupts" etc then it just didn't ring true for me.
I can't see someone spend all their spare time researching people's crimes and having them killed, maybe one or two but then they'd put the book away and think about it another time.
I watched the first half hour quite avidly but then just got bored.
It also felt like they had tried to retain too much of the anime spirit in the American movie - Ryuk's voice, provided by Willem Dafoe is like a bad English dub for a Japanese original, the father is not at all representative of a Western father, and L just came across as a strange Japanese Anime character rather than a teenage genius detective (I almost expected him close his eyes and do a big shoulder-lifting laugh every so often). I wouldn't have been surprised if Meowth had appeared at one point and made an oddly worded quip.
  
40x40

Daniel Boyd (1066 KP) rated Triple Frontier (2019) in Movies

Apr 4, 2019 (Updated Apr 4, 2019)  
Triple Frontier (2019)
Triple Frontier (2019)
2019 | Action, Adventure, Crime
Solid cast (0 more)
Bland plot (0 more)
Felt Kinda Pointless...
When I saw the trailer for Triple Frontier, I was reminded of the extremely fun recent Ghost Recon game, Wildlands and I was also reminded of the surprisingly brilliant Sicario sequel, Day Of The Solado. Unfortunately the movie lives up to neither of those other properties and is instead a middle of the road, hollow way to waste 2 hours.

The cast were a big selling point here for me, I am a fan of every single one of the 5 lead actors in this thing and they all did a pretty great job. The problem was the material that they were working with; a generic bland script and mediocre at best action scenes.

The whole thing just felt unremarkable and forgettable throughout and I kept waiting for it to kick into high gear and get good, unfortunately I am still waiting. That is the worst thing about this film, is that it isn't anything offensively bad and it's not good or even memorable either, it's just meh for it's entirety.

Overall, you can give this one a skip, unless you are a die hard fan of any of the main cast. The way that the plot wraps up in the end makes the whole drawn-out, pretty dull adventure that we have just been on feel extremely pointless and leaves the viewer feeling unfulfilled as the credits roll.
  
Destroyer (2018)
Destroyer (2018)
2018 | Thriller
Nicole Kidman: a career best performance (2 more)
Slow burn build of characters, through flashback
Brilliant twist in the third act I didn't see coming
Might be too slow for some (0 more)
Gritty but unpredictable version of an oft-told tale
The plot is both familiar (think “The Departed” mixed with “Hell or High Water”) but at the same time intricate. Nicole Kidman plays police detective Erin Bell who’s in a bad place. She looks to be on her last legs through drink and drugs, but she is being propped up in her post by an understanding boss and a tolerant partner (who spends most of his time leaving “Where the hell are you?” voicemails).

Erin is in pursuit of a truly evil man – Silas (Toby Kebbell) – who is back after a long absence. Erin and Silas have a past that is only unfolded as the film evolves. (To say more would ruin what is an outstandingly well-constructed screenplay). Aside from the “day job”, what Erin also has to contend with her truly wayward 16 year old daughter Shelby (Jade Pettyjohn).
“Destroyer” seems to have had mixed reviews, but it is really one of the most gripping watches I’ve seen in 2019. A career best from Kidman (imho) and an intelligent, slow and thoughtful motion picture.

For the full graphical review please go to One Mann's Movies here - https://bob-the-movie-man.com/2019/07/20/one-manns-movies-dvd-review-destroyer-2019/
  
Willy's Wonderland (2021)
Willy's Wonderland (2021)
2021 | Horror, Thriller
7
6.7 (13 Ratings)
Movie Rating
I can safely say that I got exactly what I expected from Willy's Wonderland, a schlocky as hell B-Movie horror that manifests Nicolas Cage going toe-to-toe with a host of murderous animatronic mascots, set to a music score of synth heavy electronica/children's party jingles. Is it silly and dumb? Yes. Does it have annoying and unlikable teenage human characters who are there just to die horribly? Also yes. Is it entertaining as fuck? Most definitely.

Cage's silent protagonist feels like the role that his career has been leading up to all these years. He has his very own corner of the zeitgeist at this point, and is just running with it, happily poking fun at himself whilst managing to be undeniably badass, whether it be the Mad Max-esque opening, tearing the robots to shreds with his bare hands, or him furiously dancing whilst playing pinball. Whenever he's on screen, he steals all the focus, without uttering a word. It's so ridiculous and enjoyable, that it renders the half-baked plot a moot point.
The animatronics themselves look pretty decent for the most part, and there's some solid gore here and there. It's the kind of gore that will make you burst out laughing, but in a good way.

Willy's Wonderland is far from a perfect experience, but it is what it is, and never tries to be anything more, and therefore succeeds in what it's trying to achieve.
  
Hustle & Flow (2005)
Hustle & Flow (2005)
2005 | Drama

"Hustle & Flow showed me what could have happened to me. I hadn’t recognized that until I’d seen the movie completed; you never know what painting you’re making until the final stroke. And even then, it’s not finished until you put it into the frame. I didn’t understand the full impact of those individual strokes that we were making on a day to day basis until I saw [the film] — where A could have led me. I saw where A would end up at. And taking on B, C, and D… For a film to affect me that way, for a character to affect me that way, to where I feel worry and think about who Djay is… I still wonder about Shug and her baby. I still wonder about Key. Hustle & Flow also had music in it, which told some of that struggle. Remember, music used to be written for films, conveyed by the actors themselves. They knew when that music was played and they responded to it. Now, [merging a film to its music] is something that’s done as a separate act, and it’s more manipulative and not honest. Music in Hustle & Flow gave us another plane in which to relate everything to, and to play from. It widened the playing field; it brightened the road down the way, because you could move to that music, and be in step with the audience instead of the audience being manipulated into step with you."

Source
  
    AthensBook

    AthensBook

    Navigation and Travel

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    App

    AthensBook is the definitive free smart city guide for those traveling or living in Athens, Greece....

Jackass Forever (2022)
Jackass Forever (2022)
2022 | Comedy
8
8.0 (4 Ratings)
Movie Rating
I remember Jackass when it first aired back in 2000. It was dumb, it was shocking, but most importantly, it took no time at all to get on board with the cast. The chemistry and bonds between Johnny Knoxville and co were immediately infectious, and everytime they put out a movie, it feels like a reunion with a bunch of old friends. Jackass Forever is the same in that respect, but it also relates to the only issue I had - I didn't feel overly fussed when it was initially announced that Bam Margera wasn't involved this time around, but now that JF is here, his absence is notable. This, coupled with a whole bunch of new faces, (presumably so the TV series can be relaunched in the near future with a new cast) makes for an unfamiliar Jackass experience. Well, kind of. Everything else is business as usual, and it's pretty glorious.
The opening scene is one of the most absurd skits that they've ever come up with, and the closing scene is a masterpiece of escalating chaos. Everything in between is the usual mix of silliness that we've come to know and love, and it feels like a warm hug, drenched in 15 gallons of pig jizz.

In short, if you're going to see Jackass Forever, chances are that you're already and established viewer, and as such, will most likely love it as I did. Long live Jackass.
  
A Woman is a Woman (1961)
A Woman is a Woman (1961)
1961 | Comedy, Drama, Romance
(0 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"I blame this movie for starting me smoking again when I was in film school in the eighties. After becoming so smitten with all that Anna Karina embodies, I decided to wear blue tights with red skirts and smoke, constantly. Needless to say it did not turn me into Anna Karina—my tights were the wrong shade of blue, and I was hacking like an old granny at the Santa Anita racetrack. Still, I loved the film, wildly, and love her in it. What is so gorgeous about this DVD is, firstly, Anna herself, and nextly, the color is like powdered paint, soft yet vibrant—not just the gorgeousness of everything Karina wears but also the murals on the walls of the strip club where she works, the jukebox from which Charles Aznavour sings. The exteriors, often shot from high angles on rooftops, have the feel and texture of what Paris must have been at that moment. I saw in the booklet that this film was very special for Jean-Luc Godard and Karina. They were in love, they wed, she was pregnant with their baby, and you can feel the exuberance of the romance in this movie. It’s absolutely exhilarating to me, and also incredibly funny. The other amazing feature on the DVD is a short documentary on Anna Karina made in 1966, clearly to promote Anna, the musical Serge Gainsbourg wrote for her. Serge closes the short, talking in the most brazenly sensual, big, bold close-up about Anna’s humor, her voice, and her sex appeal . . . It’s scrumptious!"

Source