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Wall Street (1987)
Wall Street (1987)
1987 | Drama
When looking to review a film like this, there are two distinct points of view to take in to a account:

The first being the contemporary context. That being that this was made in 1987, at the height of the Wall Street boom and that, at the time, this must have been a revelation for so many people, who still had either faith or ignorance about the financial institutions which had metamorphosed into the corrupt capitalist cancer which we all know today.

The later half of the 80’s was to herald the fall of the Gordon Gecco’s and this film, whilst reflecting its time, was also ushering in an era of doom for Wall Street, as well as the continuing propagation of this corruption which would lead to the 2008 crash which are still reeling from today.

So given that like so many films which have essentially whistle blown in there own time, Psycho (1960) also springs to mind, the impact is lessened by thirty years of dilution, in which case it would be unfair to judge the film harshly on the fact that it does not really tell us anything new today.

But when it comes to judging how well the film was made, that is surly timeless.

And considering that Oliver Stone put this together, I was disappointed. The characters where not only dislikable, which I am sure was intentional, they were also poorly written. People just come and go throughout and with the exceptions of Michael Douglas’ Gorden Gecco, Charlie Sheen’s Bud Fox and his real life father, Martin Sheen as Bud’s blue collar dad, the rest of the cast seemed to be wasted.

The plot was all over the place, inconstant and littered with goofs and continuity errors right from the get-go. In fact, it only took a few minutes before I was aghast that a film which begins in 1985 made a reference to Gecco’s ruthlessness by stating that he made money out of the Challenger disaster, which did not occur until January 1986!

Charlie Sheen’s character is difficult to sympathise with, not only because he is trying to be the villain, yet of course he finds his soul by the end, but that he is so utterly naive that it is beyond belief!

It is never clear how much money is being made, who has what or what the real gains or losses are by the end, to the point that whist it is implied that Sheen will be jailed for his insider trading, the film ends before he enters the court and Gecco, who has been recorded by Sheen confessing to his involvement, is never resolved at all!

By the end I was really annoyed by how shallow and lackadaisical the script was, seemingly only really interested in showing the power hungry greed of Wall Street traders at this time.

“Greed is good”.

Well, Mr Stone, so is some exposition.
  
Fantastic Four (2015)
Fantastic Four (2015)
2015 | Action
An absolute snooze
Here comes yet another superhero film. Ending Marvel’s year that has included the charming Big Hero 6, the overstuffed Avengers: Age of Ultron and the surprisingly excellent Ant-Man, the Fox produced Fantastic Four reboot has a tough job trying to get audiences to forget the horror that came before it.

It’s been a tough ride for the quartet of heroes, but does director Josh Trank’s modern day reimagining of Marvel’s first team do enough to change perceptions?

Not by a long shot. Despite some excellent special effects, this yawnfest of a film that was plagued by rumours of constant behind-the-scenes tension and last-minute editing doesn’t have an ounce of originality in its short 100 minute running time.

Miles Teller (Insurgent), Kate Mara (Transcendence), Michael B. Jordan (Chronicle) and Jamie Bell (Billy Elliot) take on the roles of Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm respectively and are fine, if lacking in any real chemistry.

Fantastic Four is above all, an origins story as the four young adults try to crack interdimensional travel. Naturally, things don’t go quite to plan and they, alongside fellow colleague Victor Von Doom end up with an unusual set of powers – with Doom becoming the main antagonist.

Unfortunately, the plot, devised by no less than three writers is a complete bore. There is hardly anything of interest throughout the entire film as Trank pushes his cast from one underwhelming set piece to another.

When things do get tense, it’s only for a five minute scene involving Doom breaking out of a research facility. This is when we get to see what Fantastic Four could’ve been, a dark and brooding film with a disturbing villain at its core.

However, it seems this has been pushed back to make way for an unusually flat sense of humour and an uninteresting origins story. Marvel films live and die on their comedic elements and unfortunately Fantastic Four is as poor as they come.

Nevertheless, the film’s special effects are on the whole, very good. The other dimension looks fantastic and The Thing in particular is rendered using excellent motion capture animation.

An underwhelming climax wraps up a bitterly disappointing outing for the four heroes. Most superhero films end with a spectacular showdown of good versus evil but Fantastic Four has none of this. The ending is clichéd, short and has no real payoff.

Overall, expectations were already low for this reboot and despite director Josh Trank’s obvious talent for direction, this talent is nowhere to be found in Fantastic Four.

A cast that doesn’t gel together, a poor soundtrack and a lack of tonal balance ensures it will rest alongside X-Men Origins: Wolverine as proof that Marvel Studios needs the rights to all of its heroes returning to it.

https://moviemetropolis.net/2015/08/09/an-absolute-snooze-fantastic-four-review/
  
Ice Age 2: The Meltdown (2006)
Ice Age 2: The Meltdown (2006)
2006 | Action, Animation, Comedy
10
6.5 (23 Ratings)
Movie Rating
It has been almost four years since audiences last embraced the animated misadventures of a pack of prehistoric animals in the runaway smash Ice Age.

As the calendar moves into spring the multiplexes throughout the land prepare to welcome the arrival of the early summer season films which like the warming of spring also indicates a warming at the box office as scores of moviegoers look forward to the latest releases which often contain a fair number of sequels.

In the new film, Ice Age 2: The Meltdown things are going well for the animals as they frolic the days away in a scenic glacier. Sid (John Leguizamo) has taken it upon himself to open a camp for younger animals much to the dismay of his friends Manny (Ray Romano), and Diego (Denis Leary).

Things take a turn for the worse when a rapidly warming environment threatens to melt the ice and flood the valley which results in a mass migration of the animals to a new locale where they will be safe from the flooding.

Along the way, Manny, Diego, and Sid encounter an odd trio of refugees, a family of possums. What makes this family different is that one of the possums named Ellie (Queen Latifah) is actually a Mammoth who thinks she is a possum after she was taken in at an early age by the two brothers Crash (Seann William Scott) and Eddie (Josh Peck).

Along the way this eclectic band of creatures must bond with one another as they face all manner of obstacles ranging from the elements to dangerous animals and the growing bond/tensions between Manny and Ellie who Manny fears may be the last two mammoths left.

Of course it would not be an Ice Age film without the misadventures of Scrat, the loveable squirrel from the first film who is still trying desperately to secure his beloved acorn and has all manner of misadventures as a result. As good as the other characters are the comedic interludes with Scrat are the funniest moments in the film which is saying something as there are many, many shining moments in the film.

The animation is first rate and is greatly improved from the first film as the animal’s now show greater texture and motion in their furs as well as a realistic weight transfer when they walk.

While this is not vital to the film, it does show a level of attention and detail that infuses the film with a vitality and flair not often shown in family entertainment that did not come from Disney.

Fox is at the top of their game, and “Ice Age: The Meltdown” is a further reminder that Disney no longer has a lock on animated family classics as this is a film that will delight viewers of all ages.