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Lee (2222 KP) rated Creed II (2018) in Movies
Dec 1, 2018
An Outstanding Sequel
The first Creed movie breathed fresh life into the tired Rocky franchise, introducing Michael B Jordan as the son of Apollo Creed and having Rocky Balboa mentor him through to becoming a professional boxer. All the familiar key elements were there from previous Rocky movies - the training montages, the love interest, the opponent you can't wait to see defeated. But this new take on it all worked well, resulting in a hugely enjoyable movie, and a sequel was inevitable.
With Creed 2, we get even more ties to the Rocky movies. In a bleak looking Ukraine, Ivan Drago lives with son Viktor. In Rocky IV, Ivan was the man responsible for killing Apollo Creed in a boxing match, before suffering defeat at the hands of Rocky in his hometown of Russia in the epic finale. In terms of cinematic experiences, Rocky IV was the absolute peak of the franchise. So intense, drawing unified cheers and applause from the audience I was watching it with, something you don't very often get in the cinema.
That defeat in mother Russia brought shame on Ivan and he and Viktor now live a simple life, with Viktor being trained daily by Ivan and participating in small local boxing matches, pummeling his opponents and drawing the attention of an American boxing promoter. When Adonis Creed wins the heavyweight title over in America, you can almost see the dollar signs flashing in the promoters eyes, and bringing these two together to settle old scores forms the basis of the rest of the movie.
Those familiar plot beats I described earlier, they're all here again, but that's not to say that they're any less enjoyable than when we've seen them before. At times they're even more exciting, with the added intensity coming from knowing that this is a fight that's been over 30 years in the making.
Despite the traditional halfway lull, with our hero experiencing a period of doubt and self reflection, this is once again another intense and uplifting movie. Brilliant.
With Creed 2, we get even more ties to the Rocky movies. In a bleak looking Ukraine, Ivan Drago lives with son Viktor. In Rocky IV, Ivan was the man responsible for killing Apollo Creed in a boxing match, before suffering defeat at the hands of Rocky in his hometown of Russia in the epic finale. In terms of cinematic experiences, Rocky IV was the absolute peak of the franchise. So intense, drawing unified cheers and applause from the audience I was watching it with, something you don't very often get in the cinema.
That defeat in mother Russia brought shame on Ivan and he and Viktor now live a simple life, with Viktor being trained daily by Ivan and participating in small local boxing matches, pummeling his opponents and drawing the attention of an American boxing promoter. When Adonis Creed wins the heavyweight title over in America, you can almost see the dollar signs flashing in the promoters eyes, and bringing these two together to settle old scores forms the basis of the rest of the movie.
Those familiar plot beats I described earlier, they're all here again, but that's not to say that they're any less enjoyable than when we've seen them before. At times they're even more exciting, with the added intensity coming from knowing that this is a fight that's been over 30 years in the making.
Despite the traditional halfway lull, with our hero experiencing a period of doubt and self reflection, this is once again another intense and uplifting movie. Brilliant.
Smash Cops
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Join over 4 million players worldwide who are raving about the hit game, Smash Cops. With over 30...
KyleQ (267 KP) rated Halloween (2007) in Movies
Jul 20, 2020
Intense and excessive
Before watching this I had become a fan of both House of 1,000 Corpses and The Devil's Rejects, so I did appreciate Rob Zombie as a filmmaker. But it still seemed like a strange idea to have him direct the remake of Halloween.
This remake is 2 hours long, it's mostly stretched to that length due to the scenes involving 10-year-old Michael.
Daeg Faerch plays the young Mikey, and does well, he's creepy and disturbing. Rob's wife Sheri Moon Zombie of course has a role, here as Mikey's mom, she's fine here as the role fits her well. The problem is everyone else, William Forsythe plays Mike's stepdad who happens to be a disgusting excuse for a human being, as is the bully played by Daryl Sabara. The movie then shifts to events at the asylum. Malcolm Mcdowell plays Dr. Sam Loomis. Mcdowell is a good actor, and he gives a pretty good performance here. But he still pales in comparison to the great Donald Pleasence. The movie than movies to 15-years later.
Scout Taylor Compton plays Laurie Strode, she does good, but I was disappointed that she was introduced making a sex joke. Rob couldn't even let the nerdy final girl be sweet and innocent. Needless to say, others are worse.
The movie has LOTS of profanity which honestly drags down any attempts at actually making characters likable. The sex and nudity have also been ramped up.
The violence is definitely brutal, but that's Zombie's style, I felt that Michael was quite terrifying here. Tyler Mane plays Michael, and his 7-foot tall stature is so intimidating.
Overall, Rob Zombie does a good job at developing the story of Michael Myers, and at making some really intense and brutal death scenes. But he does so at the expense of having likable characters and good dialog. I still like it, but I can understand why others wouldn't.
This remake is 2 hours long, it's mostly stretched to that length due to the scenes involving 10-year-old Michael.
Daeg Faerch plays the young Mikey, and does well, he's creepy and disturbing. Rob's wife Sheri Moon Zombie of course has a role, here as Mikey's mom, she's fine here as the role fits her well. The problem is everyone else, William Forsythe plays Mike's stepdad who happens to be a disgusting excuse for a human being, as is the bully played by Daryl Sabara. The movie then shifts to events at the asylum. Malcolm Mcdowell plays Dr. Sam Loomis. Mcdowell is a good actor, and he gives a pretty good performance here. But he still pales in comparison to the great Donald Pleasence. The movie than movies to 15-years later.
Scout Taylor Compton plays Laurie Strode, she does good, but I was disappointed that she was introduced making a sex joke. Rob couldn't even let the nerdy final girl be sweet and innocent. Needless to say, others are worse.
The movie has LOTS of profanity which honestly drags down any attempts at actually making characters likable. The sex and nudity have also been ramped up.
The violence is definitely brutal, but that's Zombie's style, I felt that Michael was quite terrifying here. Tyler Mane plays Michael, and his 7-foot tall stature is so intimidating.
Overall, Rob Zombie does a good job at developing the story of Michael Myers, and at making some really intense and brutal death scenes. But he does so at the expense of having likable characters and good dialog. I still like it, but I can understand why others wouldn't.
Hero Hunters
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Offroad 4x4 Truck Trials Parking Simulator 2 a Real Stunt Car Driving Racing Sim
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The Suspect: An Olympic Bombing, the FBI, the Media, and Richard Jewell, the Man Caught in the Middle
Kent Alexander and Kevin Salwen
8.0
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The masterful true-crime account of the 1996 Centennial Olympic Park bombing that captured the...
Suswatibasu (1703 KP) rated The Big Sick (2017) in Movies
Nov 21, 2017
Sweet, but too similar to previous movies of this nature
As someone from a similar background as the lead actor, these films have become all too familiar. Culture clashes, torn between a family and a western lifestyle has been seen in films such as Bride and Prejudice, Bend it Like Beckham, and even East is East. So it doesn't seem particularly novel to me.
What I liked was the serious side of it - no over the top music sequences, just an honest portrayal of Kumail Nanjiani's intense courtship and subsequent challenges while meeting his real wife Emily Gordon. The truth is that much of this image has changed, so it can become tedious when the same generic story is peddled to the masses. I'm hoping that we can move away from these types of plots in the future. Overall, just an average film, but great acting from Holly Hunter and Anupam Kher as per usual.
What I liked was the serious side of it - no over the top music sequences, just an honest portrayal of Kumail Nanjiani's intense courtship and subsequent challenges while meeting his real wife Emily Gordon. The truth is that much of this image has changed, so it can become tedious when the same generic story is peddled to the masses. I'm hoping that we can move away from these types of plots in the future. Overall, just an average film, but great acting from Holly Hunter and Anupam Kher as per usual.
Kitteh Kat (4 KP) rated The Perks of Being a Wallflower in Books
Jun 22, 2017
Plot (3 more)
Characters
The ending
Descriptive language
Immersive and powerful
This book has been sat on my shelves since September, just waiting for the right moment to be read.
An increasingly powerful book that focuses on the life of outcast high school students that are relatable but not overshadowed by popular teenagers.
Grappling with love; loss and life, a teenager writes letters to a stranger (possibly considered to be the reader) explaining his life and his struggles with starting high school and all the aspects that can come along with it - falling in love, making friends, experimenting with drugs/alcohol/sexuality- as well as a multitude of family issues.
The end of the book is revealing and intense and leaves the reader considering the moral behind the book.
My personal opinion is that I would have loves the story to be longer, as I finished it within an evening and for character introductions to be more stable or descriptive.
An increasingly powerful book that focuses on the life of outcast high school students that are relatable but not overshadowed by popular teenagers.
Grappling with love; loss and life, a teenager writes letters to a stranger (possibly considered to be the reader) explaining his life and his struggles with starting high school and all the aspects that can come along with it - falling in love, making friends, experimenting with drugs/alcohol/sexuality- as well as a multitude of family issues.
The end of the book is revealing and intense and leaves the reader considering the moral behind the book.
My personal opinion is that I would have loves the story to be longer, as I finished it within an evening and for character introductions to be more stable or descriptive.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Beast (2017) in Movies
May 18, 2018
Impressive debut film from Michael Pearce with an outstanding performance from Jessie Buckley at its centre. The setting is Jersey, but this is more like Cracker than Bergerac: a young woman trapped in a smothering relationship with her controlling mother starts a relationship with a drifter almost as an act of rebellion, but having committed to this what is she supposed to do when she learns he is a suspect in a string of local murders?
The thriller element is really kind of an afterthought, and the manner in which the did-he-or-didn't-do-it plotline is resolved would be unlikely to satisfy anyone if it were the sole focus of the film. But the film is built around characterisation and atmosphere much more than genre conventions, and is very strong here: as it continues it shades more into psychological horror than anything else, with a genuinely intense and impossible-to-predict denouement. An accomplished film in every department.
The thriller element is really kind of an afterthought, and the manner in which the did-he-or-didn't-do-it plotline is resolved would be unlikely to satisfy anyone if it were the sole focus of the film. But the film is built around characterisation and atmosphere much more than genre conventions, and is very strong here: as it continues it shades more into psychological horror than anything else, with a genuinely intense and impossible-to-predict denouement. An accomplished film in every department.
RəX Regent (349 KP) rated Tarzan and His Mate (1934) in Movies
Feb 19, 2019
This is the one. Notorious for it nude swimming scene and Jane’s revealing two piece number, this is the one which pushes the freedom of studios to breaking point and helped usher the Heyes code as it would be weaved into the fabric of American films for decades to come.
But this aside, this is a genuinely good sequel. More intense than the first, though as many of these films will, literally recycle action scenes from the first, the characters are developing, the story feels like it is progressing quite naturally from its predecessor and the tone is as erotic as it promises.
The kinky and untempered behavior of our leads is what the film is promising, an takes on life in the steamy jungle, away from the trappings of western life, certainly in the midst of the then, “Great Depression”. But this was where it was going to end as the studios wings were about to be clipped…
But this aside, this is a genuinely good sequel. More intense than the first, though as many of these films will, literally recycle action scenes from the first, the characters are developing, the story feels like it is progressing quite naturally from its predecessor and the tone is as erotic as it promises.
The kinky and untempered behavior of our leads is what the film is promising, an takes on life in the steamy jungle, away from the trappings of western life, certainly in the midst of the then, “Great Depression”. But this was where it was going to end as the studios wings were about to be clipped…