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Movie Metropolis (309 KP) rated Final Destination 5 (2011) in Movies

Jun 10, 2019 (Updated Jun 11, 2019)  
Final Destination 5 (2011)
Final Destination 5 (2011)
2011 | Horror
8
7.3 (14 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Did we really need another Final Destination film? After the last, merely average movie, the answer on everyone’s lips was a firm and resounding no. However, a surprising return to form for the franchise has ensured that even this old goat has life in it yet.

Gone are the cheap, cheesy shocks that littered Final Destination 3 and 4. In their place are the genuine thrills and spills from the first two films. The movie returns the guessing game element to its audience and for that I am thoroughly grateful.

Newcomer Steven Quale helms this instalment which combines excellent 3D with fantastic special effects and a dazzling set of opening credits which showcase the deaths from the films that preceded it. I wasn’t expecting much from this film, I have to admit, but the credits really are a highlight as you try and remember which film each death is from.

As with any film in the Final Destination franchise, an epic opening disaster is the norm. Whilst the motorway pileup from Final Destination 2 has been the best up until now, the bridge collapse in this film is utterly mesmerising and edge of your seat thrilling. From the flawless special effects to the scale of the production, it surpasses anything seen before in the series.

The deaths have also returned to form too. Instead of out and out cheese, they’re shocking to the point of jaw-dropping. It’ll have you checking every loose nut and bolt from now on and probably have you resisting that fashionable laser eye surgery too. Thankfully though, away from the deaths, it errs on the side of humorous without delving into slapstick.

Nicholas D’Agosto leads a small cast as they try and find a way to cheat death after surviving that epic bridge disaster. An interesting storyline this time around has the cast told that they are able to cheat death by killing someone else, therefore having their life swapped with yours. The acting from all corners leaves a lot to be desired and the dialogue and performances are unashamedly wooden but this is a small point in a film that really does shock and surprise.

However, perhaps the best part of the film and the reason why it’s so enjoyable is the final twist, a twist that will leave you shouting at the screen in dismay. It’s practically impossible to see it coming until the last 5 minutes and in these last minutes you realise just how clever director Steven Quale has been in creating this film.

It may not be the most original movie to ever grace the big screen and the cast aren’t going to trouble the Oscars but Final Destination 5 returns a lifeless franchise to what it once was, bloody good fun and as such it is by far, the best in the series.

So, the question now is; do we need Final Destination 6?


https://moviemetropolis.net/2011/09/21/review-final-destination-5-2011/
  
Last Christmas (2019)
Last Christmas (2019)
2019 | Comedy, Romance
I guess I’m not exactly the target audience for a Christmas rom-com, but I don’t usually mind them. Providing the leads have believable chemistry, there’s a good story behind it all, a few laughs and something that gives you that Christmas feel good feeling, I’m happy to watch them. Sadly though, for the most part, Last Christmas struggles to tick most of those boxes.

Emilia Clarke stars as Kate (short for Katerina, her original Yugoslav name), a 26 year old who’s struggling at life right now. Her nights are filled with one-night stands and sleeping over at friends houses, dragging her suitcase behind her the next morning as she either heads to work in a Covent Garden Christmas shop or off to an audition for a West end show. She’s also currently ignoring calls from her mum (Emma Thomson), disappointing her boss (Michelle Yeoh) and coming across as selfish and not really very likeable. It’s safe to say, she’s lost her way - “Why is my life so shit?!” she exclaims after yet another disaster happens.

And then one day, Kate notices a man gazing up at a bird outside the Christmas shop and goes outside to see what he’s doing. His name is Tom (Henry Golding) and he’s handsome and charming (but a bit wooden) and despite them turning out to have zero chemistry together, they strike up a relationship - because, y’know, this is a rom-com after all. Tom takes Kate on spontaneous walks down alleyways and into nearby pocket parks, making her look up regularly so that she can appreciate the world around her. He rides a bike everywhere, doesn’t have a mobile phone and disappears for days on end. Yet his presence and friendship appear to have a positive effect on Kate, who begins to start turning her life around.

The first half of the movie is just terrible. Badly written dialogue and characters in an attempt to try and recapture some kind of Love Actually spirit, but just failing. It even tries to cram in some Brexit references and a little bit of racism to highlight the plight of immigrants. Written by Emma Thomson and directed by Paul Feig, Last Christmas is said to be inspired by the music of George Michael although, aside from its namesake, not very much of it actually ends up featuring much in the movie.

If you’ve seen the trailer, then you may well have figured out the twist that comes towards the end of the movie. If not, then you’ll probably work it out pretty early on anyway. However, I’d be lying if I said that Last Christmas didn’t manage to hit me emotionally when the time came. It also managed to invoke some warm Christmas feels and spirit too, so not quite the complete disaster it started out as.
  
The Impossible (2012)
The Impossible (2012)
2012 | Action, Drama
A true story (3 more)
Amazing cast, incredible performances
Fantastic writing
Great effects
Wow, such a powerful, intense movie!
Wow this is 1 of the most intense and powerful movies I've seen in such a long time.

I love disaster movies and the fact this is actually a true story adds so much to it. You can feel a lot more emotion throughout knowing this actually happened to someone and the characters are a real family that this actually happened to.

This is also thanks to such an incredible cast with amazing writing and acting. There is not 1 actor that is not phenomenal. Naomi Watts, Ewan McGregor and a young Tom Holland are all fantastic. Their chemistry is natural and believable and give so much intensity and emotion to all their performances.

The effects are fantastic. The tsunami and the injuries all look great and real. Has a great score and it all makes you think and wonder what it must have been like for the people actually involved.

Absolutely fantastic and can definitely recommend. I paid £1 for the blu ray and it's 1 I will not get rid of and will watch again. If you get chance, watch it.
  
It's a Disaster (2013)
It's a Disaster (2013)
2013 | Comedy
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Time to meet the family!!
386. It's a Disaster. You know that point in a relationship when you get to meet your significant others friends? Well this it what is happening to David Cross' character Glen. His special lady friend is introducing him to 3 other couples for Sunday brunch, and judging by the first person he meets, kinda just looks him up and down and dismisses him pretty much outright. And it's all downhill from there, especially once brunch begins and there's a knock on the door from the neighbor, who at first is quite shocked they are having a get together without him, they try to explain it is a couples' brunch, then they casually ask him about the hazmat suit he's wearing. Ohhh yea, couple of dirty bombs were dropped downtown, the world as we know it is coming to an end. So, what to do... Well at least they don't seem like the type of people to panic, instead, with possibly only a few hours left to live, everybody kind of opens up, some get freakier than others, but they're all in it together!! Really funny movie, besides Cross bunch of good people in it, definitely worth a watch! Filmbufftim on FB
  
Independence Day: Resurgence (2016)
Independence Day: Resurgence (2016)
2016 | Sci-Fi
The first one - quite frankly - is one of the worst movies I've ever seen, this one is infinitely better by most conceivable metrics... but that isn't exactly high praise when the improvements here include such low bars as "stuff actually happens in this one" or "it's slightly less punishingly unwatchable". How (sub)standard most of Emmerich's movies are continues to bewilder me, as with this series for instance he essentially has carte blanche to do anything but chooses to frame them within the confines of the most nothing, clichéd disaster movie template - I swear I've seen this film like 50 times already at the very least. I mean I didn't care about the original's story or characters at all to begin with but good Lord he adds absolutely nothing to them with this. Tbh this one's monochrome sci-fi palette looks somewhat neat and there's actual shot composition going on here... but for alleged visual showcases these films really don't insist on their visuals near enough for some confounding reason, do they? And every performance in the pilot crew or whatever straight-up sucks. Maika Monroe deserves so much better. The stuff at the end with the queen running through the desert was lowkey kind of awesome though.
  
2012 (2009)
2012 (2009)
2009 | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Disaster films and Hollywood have enjoyed a long and successful partnership over the years as box office gold has been found in fictional disasters. Irwin Allen had a string of hits such as “The Towering Inferno” and “The Poseidon Adventure” which in turn lead to the films such as “Dante’s Peak”, “Volcano”, “Deep Impact”, and “Armageddon” who kept the tried and true formula of relatable, regular people forced to cope with extraordinary situations where they must battle against all odds to survive.

In the new film “2012” director Roland Emmerich follows up his other end-of-the world epics “Independence Day” and “The Day After Tomorrow”, with a story about the total devastation of the earth and all life upon it due to an increase of neutrinos from the sun heating the earth’s core causing the displacement of the Earth’s crust.

Keeping to the established formula of the disaster films, 2012 centers around a struggling writer named Jackson Curtis (John Cusack), who learns of the pending catastrophic events while camping at Yellowstone National Park with his children. The presence of forbidden areas and swarms of soldiers and scientists leads Jackson to believe that the local conspiracy radio host Charlie Frost (Woody Harrelson), might be right in his predictions that we are all on borrowed time, and that the increase in earthquakes and fissures along the fault lines are a very bad omen.

Unbeknownst to Jackson, and the majority of the world’s population, U.S. President Wilson (Danny Glover), and his fellow heads of state, are preparing for the coming tragedy. Carl Anheuser (Oliver Platt) and a team of geologists lead by Adrian Helmsley (Chiwetal Ojiofore) are trying to determine exactly how much time they have to save what they can of humanity. Unaware that the fate of mankind is being decided by the politicians and those with money, Jackson and his children soon find themselves rushing to stay alive, with his ex-wife Kate (Amanda Peet), and her boyfriend in tow. Jackson learns of a plan to save select members of the population and pins their very survival on being able to arrive at what they hope is their salvation before time runs out.

Spectacular effects follow as Los Angeles and other cities are swallowed up by massive sinkholes and buried under collapsing bridges and buildings in some of the most amazing sequences of mayhem and destruction ever captured on film. The movie does an amazing job of showing the absolute calamity and chaos and does a passable job with the relationships between the characters. There are some nice supporting performances from Thandie Newton and George Segal. It is just a shame they were not given a bit more to work with. The cookie cutter scenarios that many characters faced seem to have been lifted from the book of disaster film plots.

I did not go into the film expecting realism, as I fully expect the world will go on as normal on December 22, 2012. However, I did have to note some of the absurd developments that strained any semblance of credibility the film may have had. One such scene had the characters being flooded and trapped for an extended period of time by water. Since their locale was near Mt Everest, I had to assume that it was not warm spring water they were submerged in, and had to wonder if hypothermia just went the way of most of the human populace.

Then again, we were dealing with a heated core that was essentially melting the earth’s crust. So maybe the water was warm.

As with all disaster movies, I do have to remember the audience is asked to suspend all disbelief, at least for 160 minutes. While the film does take some vast leaps of logic, there is enough good action, special effects, and strained levity to make this a good distraction, as long as you are willing to check your brain at the door and just enjoy the ride.
  
All I See Is You (2017)
All I See Is You (2017)
2017 | Drama
5
5.5 (2 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Decent acting (1 more)
Beautiful visuals
Confusing storyline (3 more)
Doesn't deliver
A lot is implied
Weird sexual parts that make no sense
A Poor Attempt at a Romantic Thriller
Contains spoilers, click to show
I'd never heard of this until it popped up on my Stan account. The summary sounded like it was going to be a gritty romantic thriller - boy was I wrong! While the acting was decent and the 'blind' effects were gorgeous, the storyline left something to be desired. Their marriage was clearly a disaster, the husband is needy and posessive and her complete personality change when she was able to see with one eye was jarring to say the least. The doctor was able to restore her sight in her right eye, but not once did they touch on how difficult it is to just see with one eye. Your balance is off, your perception is off - it's a complete disaster until you become used to it, yet they gave her the ease and impression that she could see with both eyes again. A lot is heavily implied (him messing with her eyedrops to cause blindness again, him staging a break in to get rid of her dog Ginger, her cheating on him with Daniel, her lying about being able to see etc.), there is never a confrontation between the pair about any of it. At the end you get the impression he's dead and she has the baby, but none of it is actually confirmed. It's just an utter mess. Nothing comes together and the story falls flat. There's also a lot of very unsettling sexual overtones from the get go which are never explained or understood. It feels like these were added as part of the story that was never revealed - maybe left on the editing floor - so they don't make much sense. The movie could have easily happened without them so why have them there when they didn't serve an actual purpose? Overall, it was a confusing, slightly disturbing mess that just - didn't work. It had a lot of potential but just didn't deliver. I wouldn't bother with it if you're looking for something good to watch, it just isn't there with this one.
  
Greenland (2020)
Greenland (2020)
2020 | Action, Thriller
Predictable but entertaining.
Contains spoilers, click to show
I love disaster films. 2012, Day After Tomorrow, San Andreas, I can't get enough. So of course I had to watch this film. Gérard Butler? Yes please!
The thing I liked about this one in particular was how believable it was. Of course in a global disaster, governments weren't going to save everyone. Of course they are going to pick the strongest most useful bunch. And obviously they would turn away the sick because why save someone who could die in a week when you could save a healthy teen that was probably going to solve world hunger? I also liked that they added the kidnapping. Not going to lie, if it was my one shot at survival, I would probably try too.
Now what I didnt love. If you know your husband has gone to the car, and would more than likely go back to the car if he found out you had left. Stay at the car!!! If you also know you are very likely to end up at the same destination, does it really matter that he's not on your plane? Its all her fault they got kicked out the facility. Its also his fault the plane got blew up and everyone had lost their chance. Also if one random guy knew there was a plane in Canada going to the bunker, how did nobody else know? And also, everyone knew if you had a wristband, you had a code. Of course you couldn't steal someone elses...

And then towards the end when they had wormed their way to the safety of the Canadian plane, I said to my sister 'I bet they get there, and even though they shouldn't they are let in, and in probably 6 weeks or soemthing, they will open the doors and a bird will fly past or soemthing and everything is happy.' Low and behold, I was right about everything except the time. They spent 9 month in a bunker they didn't think they would use? Yeah right.

But overall, an okay film. I am just really good at guessing movie twists and endings!
  
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
1993 | Animation, Family, Sci-Fi
Bone Daddy Nearly Ruins Christmas!
Every Halloween, Jack the Pumpkin King, would go out and scare many people with his frightening theatrics. Unfortunately, Jack has grown tired of doing the same routine every year and wanted to do something different. It was then that Jack accidentally ended up in Christmas Town and he was so awed and amazed at the Christmas visuals and the figure of Santa Claus (who he mistakenly calls "Sandy Claws"), that he decided that he should take over Christmas for the year! This then leads to Santa Claus being kidnapped by Oogie Boogie and Christmas nearly put into disaster!

Can Jack fix all of this before it's too late?

Seriously, this is probably my most favorite film made by Tim Burton (well technically, it was produced by Tim Burton and the poem was written by him, but Henry Selick directed the film). I just loved the cute yet nightmarish visuals in this movie as they gave the movie a creative vibe and I really loved seeing the different kinds of characters that pop up in Halloween Town, with my favorite creatures being the Clown with the Tearaway Face and the Vampires! I also loved the characters themselves as they were all interesting and amusing to look at. Probably my most favorite character in this entire movie was none other than Jack Skellington himself as he was a truly charming and charismatic character! I just loved the way that Jack went about trying something different for a change and it was cute seeing him lit up with enthusiasm as he tried to become the new Santa Claus. I also loved the character of Sally the Rag Doll as she truly cares about Jack and would do anything to prevent Jack from ruining Christmas! The visuals were amazing as all the characters look truly nightmarish (especially the werewolf and the witches) and yet, their personalities are so likable that you cannot help but actually care for these characters. Probably the best part of this movie were the songs themselves as they truly capture the true essence of this film, with my favorite songs being "What's This?" "This is Halloween" and "Sally's Song."

The only problem with this film is that the reason why this movie was rated PG was because of the scary imagery. So, there may be some images, like the various monsters that show up in this film, that might scare smaller children for the most part. Also, there is not enough back stories with any of these characters to really get to know their true motives and their existence, so some people might be a bit confused about where some of the motives of the characters came from, like in the case of Oogie Boogie where we don't know much about his character other than he despises Jack Skellington.

Overall, "The Nightmare Before Christmas" is a fantastic animated film that you can see either during Christmas or Halloween ( a two in one deal, how cool is that)? and it will forever be remembered as a classic film that Tim Burton and stop motion fans will love for many years!

Originally posted on: http://surrealmoviesandtvblog.blogspot.com/2014/07/movie-review-nightmare-before-christmas.html
  
10,000 Days (2014)
10,000 Days (2014)
2014 | Sci-Fi
2
5.0 (2 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Story: 10,000 Days starts as we enter the world 27-years after a comet struck Earth putting the survivors into a permanent ice age, we follow two groups of survivors, once together now at war, William Beck (Schneider) on one side, Remy Farnwell (Wingfield) on the other.

As the Beck’s discover moments of truth about the disaster and a potential cure, Remy is playing his attack to take their base, the race against time for human survival is on.

 

Thoughts on 10,000 Days

 

Characters – William Beck runs one of the clans in the frozen land, he has kept his people safe, always searching for the next way to survive, hopefully peacefully even against his enemy, he knew the world before the disaster and now he wants to return to it. Remy Farnwell leads the rival clan, living on the ice he fell out with the Beck’s wanting revenge for the betrayal as he sees it. He doesn’t mind killing people in the battle which he has made too personal. We do have a lot of characters in this film, William has three sons that all look exactly the same, we have the scientist figures which seems to be three different female characters, a pilot who failed to stop the comet who still lives with the nightmare. We get so many characters it truly is hard to keep up or invest in any of them.

Performances – The performances, well this is difficult because nearly all the actors and characters look the same, it is difficult to figure out who the lead is, nobody has any sort of emotional factor or strong moments to stand out.

Story – The story is the end of the world happened, we are now in an ice age which could be coming to an end, but two war driven clans want control of the best location. This sounds interesting enough, you would be wrong, we have moments of discovery, moments of war, though this just never knows which one is the most important. Sadly, this only ends feeling boring, we don’t get invested in the characters and for some reason the film kind of just ends with a massive cliff hanger.

Sci-Fi – The world has ended and now an ice-age has hit, well that is the sci-fi side of the film.

Settings – The film give us generic location which include ice area or cold looking warehouse.

Special Effects – The effects here are just terrible and look completely fake.


Scene of the Movie – The concept should work.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – The Effects.

Final Thoughts – This is a poor sci-fi movie that just doesn’t become interesting at any point in the film.

 

Overall: Boring throughout.

https://moviesreview101.com/2019/05/28/10000-days-2014/