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Men in Black (1997)
7.8
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Men in Black follows the exploits of agents Kay (Jones) and Jay (Smith), members of a top-secret...
Welcome to Mooseport (2004)
2.0
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To recover from a vicious divorce, former U.S. President Monroe Cole (Gene Hackman) retires to his...
Dodgeball - A True Underdog Story (2004)
7.6
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Average Joe's Gym and its owner, Peter La Fleur (Vince Vaughn), are both down on their luck. A fancy...
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Earthbound: David Bowie and the Man Who Fell to Earth
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'Before there was Star Wars before there was Close Encounters there was The Man Who Fell To Earth....
Phillip McSween (751 KP) rated Men in Black (1997) in Movies
Jan 6, 2021
Visually Brilliant and Gorgeous
A New York police officer gets thrown into a crazy world when he stumbles upon a special group trying to stop intergalactic threats.
Acting: 10
Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones have to be one my most favorite duos of all time. Playing Agent J and Agent K respectively, their partnership is one of new blood versus old head. I love how each of them took on their respective role, Smith with air of cockiness and bravado and Jones with the nature of one who has been there and done that too many times before. And I haven’t even dove into the fun performances of actors like Rip Torn and Tony Shalhoub. Very well casted movie.
Beginning: 10
Characters: 10
J and K are magnificent to watch, but it’s the broad scope of aliens for me that take the cake. There’s Jeebs whose head can explode and grow back. Then there’s Edgar who eventually becomes a massive bug wearing an “Edgar Suit” played by the amazing Vincent D’Onofrio. Those are only to name a couple from a large list of enriching characters that shed a fun new light on the underground of New York.
Cinematography/Visuals: 10
Conflict: 10
The first ten minutes of the movie gives you a taste of what the action is going to be like. That dives right into the next scene and the next. Great action with high stakes that races across the city of New York. I appreciate the high level of conflict that kept me engaged.
Entertainment Value: 7
Memorability: 7
Pace: 10
Ninety-eight minutes goes by quick in Men In Black. It’s one of those movies that you almost don’t want to end but you know it has to. It races through its story, but just quickly enough so that you don’t miss any important details. I love when movies can move at a pace like this without ruining with exposition.
Plot: 7
Resolution: 8
I wanted a little more from the ending but it was satisfactory for the most part. Definitely leaves room for the obvious sequel that follows it. Decent way to wrap things up.
Overall: 89
From the beginning, I had no doubt that I was going to like Men In Black. It wraps solid sci-fi action into a nice gift with quick pacing and a solid story for a bow. Director Barry Sonnenfeld masterfully captures the “aliens among us” idea and makes it inventive. Definitely a necessary piece of sci-fi movie history.
Acting: 10
Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones have to be one my most favorite duos of all time. Playing Agent J and Agent K respectively, their partnership is one of new blood versus old head. I love how each of them took on their respective role, Smith with air of cockiness and bravado and Jones with the nature of one who has been there and done that too many times before. And I haven’t even dove into the fun performances of actors like Rip Torn and Tony Shalhoub. Very well casted movie.
Beginning: 10
Characters: 10
J and K are magnificent to watch, but it’s the broad scope of aliens for me that take the cake. There’s Jeebs whose head can explode and grow back. Then there’s Edgar who eventually becomes a massive bug wearing an “Edgar Suit” played by the amazing Vincent D’Onofrio. Those are only to name a couple from a large list of enriching characters that shed a fun new light on the underground of New York.
Cinematography/Visuals: 10
Conflict: 10
The first ten minutes of the movie gives you a taste of what the action is going to be like. That dives right into the next scene and the next. Great action with high stakes that races across the city of New York. I appreciate the high level of conflict that kept me engaged.
Entertainment Value: 7
Memorability: 7
Pace: 10
Ninety-eight minutes goes by quick in Men In Black. It’s one of those movies that you almost don’t want to end but you know it has to. It races through its story, but just quickly enough so that you don’t miss any important details. I love when movies can move at a pace like this without ruining with exposition.
Plot: 7
Resolution: 8
I wanted a little more from the ending but it was satisfactory for the most part. Definitely leaves room for the obvious sequel that follows it. Decent way to wrap things up.
Overall: 89
From the beginning, I had no doubt that I was going to like Men In Black. It wraps solid sci-fi action into a nice gift with quick pacing and a solid story for a bow. Director Barry Sonnenfeld masterfully captures the “aliens among us” idea and makes it inventive. Definitely a necessary piece of sci-fi movie history.
Kayleigh (12 KP) rated The Hunger Games in Books
Jan 2, 2019
I finished this book for the second time around 15 minutes ago, and I’m still missing being part of its world. Yes, it’s that good. Actually, I read the whole book just today. The first time I read it, just before the film came out, I’d followed a friend’s recommendation to read the books first, and devoured all three in as many days. I then had to give up my Kindle for a few days so that my friend could read it, and she was just as enamoured. I know my American cousins loved it too. Safe to say, it was very popular in my circle of friends! I have heard a couple of dismissive comments saying it’s a rip-off of Battle Royale, but I haven’t read that yet, so I’ll reserve judgement.
Set in post-apocalyptic America, now known as Panem, the book very quickly sets Katniss, the protagonist, up as a fiercely protective older sister. <spoiler>So protective, she learnt to hunt, barter on the black market and generally help her family survive when their father dies and their mother is overcome by depression. So protective, she volunteers in her sister’s place for the practically suicidal Hunger Games.</spoiler> It’s not long into the book that the reaping takes place, but by the time it does, the reader knows all they need to about who Katniss is, where she’s coming from, and also sets the scene for her dilemma over the coming books. I was rooting for her all the way, and the way Suzanne Collins writes from Katniss’s perspective is extremely effective. I was constantly sympathising with her, while at the same time simply admiring how the cogs in her mind worked in helping her to survive. None of it seemed contrived.
I’m a really big fan of dystopias anyway, but I loved what this plot was based on. Collins has said that her idea for The Hunger Games came from reality TV, and what might happen if it got warped. In a society where it’s almost impossible to avoid reality television, the plot is really contemporary, whilst also having a definite mix of Orwell’s Big Brother in there. Having also read the next two stories before, I know it gets a lot darker, but I’ll review those another time. <spoiler>In the TV context, it’s also really easy to see how anything that boosted ratings (the “star-crossed lovers”) would be extremely powerful. It took me a while to get this, but actually, being torn between Gale and Peeta is quite understandable, given the different extremes she knows both under. I suppose comparisons could be made, but it’s definitely no Twilight.</spoiler>
The pacing of the book is done brilliantly (hence why I’ve read it twice, both taking less than a day!). Collins controls the twists and turns of the plot as adeptly as the gamemakers. The main characters are really multi-faceted, and the important themes – action, politics, and yes, even love – all come out in sometimes unexpected places.
Having also seen the film, I’m really impressed with how well it translated across. Obviously, no film can ever compete with the level of detail and the reader’s own imagination in a book, but it was good. I can’t remember what I thought of casting at the time, but I must admit, I did see Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson in my mind when reading the book this time. This may come across as a backhanded compliment, but Jennifer Lawrence seems to have the right level of awkwardness/social unease in front of the cameras that I associated with Katniss, and also fits the book’s description.
This review is also on my <a href="http://awowords.wordpress.com">blog</a>; - if you liked it, please check it out!
Set in post-apocalyptic America, now known as Panem, the book very quickly sets Katniss, the protagonist, up as a fiercely protective older sister. <spoiler>So protective, she learnt to hunt, barter on the black market and generally help her family survive when their father dies and their mother is overcome by depression. So protective, she volunteers in her sister’s place for the practically suicidal Hunger Games.</spoiler> It’s not long into the book that the reaping takes place, but by the time it does, the reader knows all they need to about who Katniss is, where she’s coming from, and also sets the scene for her dilemma over the coming books. I was rooting for her all the way, and the way Suzanne Collins writes from Katniss’s perspective is extremely effective. I was constantly sympathising with her, while at the same time simply admiring how the cogs in her mind worked in helping her to survive. None of it seemed contrived.
I’m a really big fan of dystopias anyway, but I loved what this plot was based on. Collins has said that her idea for The Hunger Games came from reality TV, and what might happen if it got warped. In a society where it’s almost impossible to avoid reality television, the plot is really contemporary, whilst also having a definite mix of Orwell’s Big Brother in there. Having also read the next two stories before, I know it gets a lot darker, but I’ll review those another time. <spoiler>In the TV context, it’s also really easy to see how anything that boosted ratings (the “star-crossed lovers”) would be extremely powerful. It took me a while to get this, but actually, being torn between Gale and Peeta is quite understandable, given the different extremes she knows both under. I suppose comparisons could be made, but it’s definitely no Twilight.</spoiler>
The pacing of the book is done brilliantly (hence why I’ve read it twice, both taking less than a day!). Collins controls the twists and turns of the plot as adeptly as the gamemakers. The main characters are really multi-faceted, and the important themes – action, politics, and yes, even love – all come out in sometimes unexpected places.
Having also seen the film, I’m really impressed with how well it translated across. Obviously, no film can ever compete with the level of detail and the reader’s own imagination in a book, but it was good. I can’t remember what I thought of casting at the time, but I must admit, I did see Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson in my mind when reading the book this time. This may come across as a backhanded compliment, but Jennifer Lawrence seems to have the right level of awkwardness/social unease in front of the cameras that I associated with Katniss, and also fits the book’s description.
This review is also on my <a href="http://awowords.wordpress.com">blog</a>; - if you liked it, please check it out!
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Men in Black International (2019) in Movies
Jun 22, 2019 (Updated Sep 25, 2019)
When Men In Black 3 came out 7 years ago I wasn't convinced they'd be able to follow the first two films, but it's probably become my favourite of the franchise for that ending alone. Seeing the trailers for International I was a little dubious but knowing how I felt the last time I was slightly optimistic about it.
*Eyes closed. Pinch bridge of nose. Slow, pained exhale.*
I hate it when the internet is right, it sets a very bad precedent. This film was not good, and it was fairly evident early on. Considering that at the beginning of the film we're seeing a kid discovering aliens for the first time I can't fathom how there is so little wonder and excitement in it. I found myself thinking it was cute, but cute isn't enough to kickstart a film.
I hoped for a while that it was just a slow burner, but after a third of the film had passed it was difficult to hold on to that hope. There was almost nothing that was exciting in it to make you want to ever see it again.
Somehow the effects have got both better and worse at the same time. The aliens in general look a little shoddy, apart from the main evil duo. There are some moments where they turn into a gaseous entity, their appearance changes to a galaxy like blur, and it's actually pretty beautiful to see... but then they turn back.
Tessa Thompson plays our obsessed wannabe woman in black. Relatively speaking her performance was quite good. I've only seen her in things from the last couple of years, and apart from Ragnarok I haven't been overly impressed with the roles she's played but Molly was a nice addition to her roster.
Chris Hemsworth... oh my dear boy... I'm not convinced that he should do comedy. Thor is great in Ragnarok but outside of that I'm not overly fond. There's only so far handsome and a little dumb can get you, and I think Thor and Kevin really used all of that up. When he's so good at drama I'm not sure why he keeps picking the same type of comedic pieces, as a dramatic actor in 12 Strong and Bad Times At The El Royale he was great and I really want to go back and see more of his serious roles. H in this is basically just Kevin from Ghostbusters in a black suit with a few more brain cells. It's a terribly scripted role and a massively disappointing lead in a series that has so much possibility behind it.
The standout performance for me is from Kumail Nanjiani as Pawny. Pawny is fantastically scripted, to the point that I wondered if someone else had written his part. The wonderful thing about it was that I could feel Nanjiani in everything that Pawny was doing, if you'd had him as a real-life character it would have been (almost) exactly the same performance. The only times I laughed were Pawny moments and I was genuinely annoyed when they were interrupted by the rest of the film.
Our four main supporting actors are a bit of a mix. Emma Thompson gives a repeat performance as O and ooooo is she glorious as always. Liam Neeson plays High T, the head of the London branch of MIB, it's fairly non-descript, sadly he's no Rip Torn. Rafe Spall plays Agent C who's a bit of a snitch. He has a rather slow start and when we meet him it's not a great scene for anyone involved, I found him to be terribly boring but thankfully his part does improve as we get deeper into it. Lastly we've got the surprise inclusion of Rebecca Ferguson as H's ex-girlfriend, Riza... I just... what was the point of her character?
"But the bad guy fights must have been good?"... am I the only one that felt like there wasn't really a bad guy in this? Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of options but we don't see enough of any of them to be really invested in the fact that they're bad. And when it comes to action scenes... were there really any of them either? I just... I can't even... ugh...
Considering I wasn't buzzing about this before I went in I'm amazed that I felt so disappointed by it. There was very little to enjoy beyond Nanjiani's Pawny, and hardly anything to workout as you watched because the trailers made it fairly obvious what was going to happen. You always hope that new instalments of series are going to stand up to its predecessors or at least not be so shit that they make you regret spending time watching it... yeah...
I want to like this more and I may give it a second chance after the slight success of Aladdin's second viewing, but no matter what happens, this is still going to be ranked fourth in the series.
What you should do
I really wouldn't bother watching this, spend your time rewatching the previous three instalments.
Movie thing you wish you could take home
I would like the only amazing thing from this film, one Pawny, please.
*Eyes closed. Pinch bridge of nose. Slow, pained exhale.*
I hate it when the internet is right, it sets a very bad precedent. This film was not good, and it was fairly evident early on. Considering that at the beginning of the film we're seeing a kid discovering aliens for the first time I can't fathom how there is so little wonder and excitement in it. I found myself thinking it was cute, but cute isn't enough to kickstart a film.
I hoped for a while that it was just a slow burner, but after a third of the film had passed it was difficult to hold on to that hope. There was almost nothing that was exciting in it to make you want to ever see it again.
Somehow the effects have got both better and worse at the same time. The aliens in general look a little shoddy, apart from the main evil duo. There are some moments where they turn into a gaseous entity, their appearance changes to a galaxy like blur, and it's actually pretty beautiful to see... but then they turn back.
Tessa Thompson plays our obsessed wannabe woman in black. Relatively speaking her performance was quite good. I've only seen her in things from the last couple of years, and apart from Ragnarok I haven't been overly impressed with the roles she's played but Molly was a nice addition to her roster.
Chris Hemsworth... oh my dear boy... I'm not convinced that he should do comedy. Thor is great in Ragnarok but outside of that I'm not overly fond. There's only so far handsome and a little dumb can get you, and I think Thor and Kevin really used all of that up. When he's so good at drama I'm not sure why he keeps picking the same type of comedic pieces, as a dramatic actor in 12 Strong and Bad Times At The El Royale he was great and I really want to go back and see more of his serious roles. H in this is basically just Kevin from Ghostbusters in a black suit with a few more brain cells. It's a terribly scripted role and a massively disappointing lead in a series that has so much possibility behind it.
The standout performance for me is from Kumail Nanjiani as Pawny. Pawny is fantastically scripted, to the point that I wondered if someone else had written his part. The wonderful thing about it was that I could feel Nanjiani in everything that Pawny was doing, if you'd had him as a real-life character it would have been (almost) exactly the same performance. The only times I laughed were Pawny moments and I was genuinely annoyed when they were interrupted by the rest of the film.
Our four main supporting actors are a bit of a mix. Emma Thompson gives a repeat performance as O and ooooo is she glorious as always. Liam Neeson plays High T, the head of the London branch of MIB, it's fairly non-descript, sadly he's no Rip Torn. Rafe Spall plays Agent C who's a bit of a snitch. He has a rather slow start and when we meet him it's not a great scene for anyone involved, I found him to be terribly boring but thankfully his part does improve as we get deeper into it. Lastly we've got the surprise inclusion of Rebecca Ferguson as H's ex-girlfriend, Riza... I just... what was the point of her character?
"But the bad guy fights must have been good?"... am I the only one that felt like there wasn't really a bad guy in this? Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of options but we don't see enough of any of them to be really invested in the fact that they're bad. And when it comes to action scenes... were there really any of them either? I just... I can't even... ugh...
Considering I wasn't buzzing about this before I went in I'm amazed that I felt so disappointed by it. There was very little to enjoy beyond Nanjiani's Pawny, and hardly anything to workout as you watched because the trailers made it fairly obvious what was going to happen. You always hope that new instalments of series are going to stand up to its predecessors or at least not be so shit that they make you regret spending time watching it... yeah...
I want to like this more and I may give it a second chance after the slight success of Aladdin's second viewing, but no matter what happens, this is still going to be ranked fourth in the series.
What you should do
I really wouldn't bother watching this, spend your time rewatching the previous three instalments.
Movie thing you wish you could take home
I would like the only amazing thing from this film, one Pawny, please.