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Bob Mann (459 KP) rated Instant Karma (2021) in Movies
Sep 6, 2021
Neat idea for a movie (1 more)
Samantha Belle
Script is rambling and needs much tightening up (1 more)
Acting is often sub-par
You’ve got to admire the effort here.
Positives:
- There’s a quirky joy behind the story and it did keep me watching until the end to find out how it turned out.
- I enjoyed Samantha Belle’s performance. Whilst she has a few rough acting edges, she channelled a sort of cross between Ally Sheedy and Geena Davis that was cute. Elsewhere in the cast, Karl Haas (as Harry, the homeless guy) and Keegan Luther as the luckless Emilio gave, for me, the most naturalistic (and therefore best) performances.
- There’s an ending that, while feeling inconclusive and circuitous, did at least leave me with a smile on my face. (I hope permission was gained for the use of the name in the end titles!).
Negatives:
- If you watch, for example, “The Father” you quickly appreciate that the reason Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman are so GREAT in the movie is you NEVER get the feeling that they are acting. Unfortunately, in “Instant Karma”, while I appreciate that all of the cast are giving of their best, almost EVERYONE appears to be acting. While it’s seldom ‘hold your head in your hands’ terrible, the chasm of skill between this cast and the top-flight is vast. - - The script doesn’t help this by introducing a torrent of different ‘rider’ cast, many of whom should never have been put in front of a camera to deliver lines.
- While the story has potential, the script rambles around and never quite decides what genre it’s going for. Drama? It’s not dramatic enough. Thriller? It tries to go that way in the final reel, but never convincingly (and WHATEVER HAPPENED TO POOR EMILIO????). Comedy? Humourous at times maybe, but never laugh-out-loud funny. (It actually might have made a pretty good comedy – a variant on the “Do you think I asked for a million ducks?” bar joke! This idea (C) Bob Mann 2021!).
- The script is also incomplete and tonally inconsistent. There are sub-plots (e.g. Emilio’s request for the money) that are never fleshed out. And Samantha seems to veer from excitable and supportive sexy wife to full-on psycho-bitch-marital-nightmare from scene to scene.
- When you’ve got a loose script, and a cast with limited experience, don’t over-egg the pudding! The movie is 115 minutes long: I would personally have gone to town in the editing room and got it down to sub-90 minutes. The overall concoction would have been much better. As it is, we have far too many instances of “Karma” in the first half of the film and some ‘filler’ scenes that go on and on (and on and on) without adding anything to the story. For example, there is a ‘spending spree’ montage that, while very nicely put together, goes on for almost two whole minutes. Chop, chop, chop!
- Technically, the sound needs more work. There’s a lot of noise on the soundtrack and some poorly mixed music cues. Lighting inside the car was also an issue in some scenes.
Summary Thoughts on “Instant Karma”: I enjoyed watching this one more than my long list of “suggested improvements” might suggest.
I remain in awe of a team, with a limited budget, being able to project manage a movie like this to completion. And especially since this was filmed during the pandemic and in the searing heat of an Arizona summer, with the temperature rising to 117 degrees. As such, I hate to fire as many negatives at the film as I have, but I have to review things on a level playing field. With so many rough edges, I can’t give it a better rating than I have, but it gets an A+ for effort, and it’s far from being the worst film I’ve seen so far in 2021.
(For the full graphical review, check out #onemannsmovies on the web, Facebook or Tiktok. Thanks)
- There’s a quirky joy behind the story and it did keep me watching until the end to find out how it turned out.
- I enjoyed Samantha Belle’s performance. Whilst she has a few rough acting edges, she channelled a sort of cross between Ally Sheedy and Geena Davis that was cute. Elsewhere in the cast, Karl Haas (as Harry, the homeless guy) and Keegan Luther as the luckless Emilio gave, for me, the most naturalistic (and therefore best) performances.
- There’s an ending that, while feeling inconclusive and circuitous, did at least leave me with a smile on my face. (I hope permission was gained for the use of the name in the end titles!).
Negatives:
- If you watch, for example, “The Father” you quickly appreciate that the reason Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman are so GREAT in the movie is you NEVER get the feeling that they are acting. Unfortunately, in “Instant Karma”, while I appreciate that all of the cast are giving of their best, almost EVERYONE appears to be acting. While it’s seldom ‘hold your head in your hands’ terrible, the chasm of skill between this cast and the top-flight is vast. - - The script doesn’t help this by introducing a torrent of different ‘rider’ cast, many of whom should never have been put in front of a camera to deliver lines.
- While the story has potential, the script rambles around and never quite decides what genre it’s going for. Drama? It’s not dramatic enough. Thriller? It tries to go that way in the final reel, but never convincingly (and WHATEVER HAPPENED TO POOR EMILIO????). Comedy? Humourous at times maybe, but never laugh-out-loud funny. (It actually might have made a pretty good comedy – a variant on the “Do you think I asked for a million ducks?” bar joke! This idea (C) Bob Mann 2021!).
- The script is also incomplete and tonally inconsistent. There are sub-plots (e.g. Emilio’s request for the money) that are never fleshed out. And Samantha seems to veer from excitable and supportive sexy wife to full-on psycho-bitch-marital-nightmare from scene to scene.
- When you’ve got a loose script, and a cast with limited experience, don’t over-egg the pudding! The movie is 115 minutes long: I would personally have gone to town in the editing room and got it down to sub-90 minutes. The overall concoction would have been much better. As it is, we have far too many instances of “Karma” in the first half of the film and some ‘filler’ scenes that go on and on (and on and on) without adding anything to the story. For example, there is a ‘spending spree’ montage that, while very nicely put together, goes on for almost two whole minutes. Chop, chop, chop!
- Technically, the sound needs more work. There’s a lot of noise on the soundtrack and some poorly mixed music cues. Lighting inside the car was also an issue in some scenes.
Summary Thoughts on “Instant Karma”: I enjoyed watching this one more than my long list of “suggested improvements” might suggest.
I remain in awe of a team, with a limited budget, being able to project manage a movie like this to completion. And especially since this was filmed during the pandemic and in the searing heat of an Arizona summer, with the temperature rising to 117 degrees. As such, I hate to fire as many negatives at the film as I have, but I have to review things on a level playing field. With so many rough edges, I can’t give it a better rating than I have, but it gets an A+ for effort, and it’s far from being the worst film I’ve seen so far in 2021.
(For the full graphical review, check out #onemannsmovies on the web, Facebook or Tiktok. Thanks)
Bob Mann (459 KP) rated Passengers (2016) in Movies
Sep 29, 2021
Guilt trip.
“Passengers” is not a film that you can really talk about in much depth without straying into spoiler territory, so I will break my normal tradition of my reviews being entirely “Spoiler Free” and add a further discussion (but below the Fad Rating, so you are safe ‘til there).
The backdrop for “Passengers” is the spaceship “Avalon”, on a 120 year trip taking Earth colonists to the new world of “Homestead 2”. Following an ‘incident’ the story finds two individuals – Jim Preston, played by Chris “Jurassic World” Pratt, and Jennifer “Joy” Lawrence – as the only passengers awake on the automated ship among 5000+ other slumbering souls. It rather goes without saying that with two attractive and bankable Hollywood stars and nothing else to do, the two ‘get it on’. With things on the ship going from bad to worse, the two must work as a team to try to save the ship, crew and fellow passengers from disaster.
As a fan of sci-fi, I’ll start with a positive that the Avalon is a gloriously rendered spacecraft, and many of the scenes of space walking present beautiful cinematography (by Rodrigo Prieto of “The Wolf of Wall Street” and “Argo”). Many of the other special effects in the film – led by special effects supervisor Daniel Sudick, of the Marvel franchise – are spectacularly good, especially one which demonstrates why the lifeguards closed the pool on the International Space Station!
The overall premise of the film is also original and well-conceived, setting up the backdrop for some serious post-watch ethical debate (see spoiler section).
Where the wheels came off for me though is with the script by Jon Spaihts (“Prometheus”, “Doctor Strange”). Some of the dialogue is just appallingly trite, and some of the supposed capabilities of our hero, Preston, are laughable. For example, he possesses an uncanny ability as “an engineer” to open a cabinet of electronics, scan the circuits and say “Nope – that all looks fine”: the next time my washing machine controller packs in, he’s going to be on my speed-dial for sure! And (cue trite line – “every component on the ship has a spare”) Preston immediately finds the required part (curiously, it’s right next to the failing component and not in Bay 67 on cargo deck 327!) and knows how to plug and play it as required.
Chris Pratt; Jennifer Lawrence
Pratt and Lawrence, with Pratt about to debug my washing machine controller just by looking at it.
But, for me, there was one particularly dire point in the script where Spaihts obviously forgets which film he’s writing the scene for and ‘goes superhero’: oh, hang on, Preston doesn’t HAVE any superhero powers! For me, any goodwill the story had built up through to that point get vented into space.
The director is Morten Tyldum, whose “Headhunters” I really enjoyed but who is probably more famous for “The Imitation Game”. Not overawed by the production’s scale, he does a great job of getting good performances out of the rather wooden action hunk that is Chris Pratt and the reliable Oscar-winner Jennifer Lawrence who (apart from one dramatic and emotional scene) the script doesn’t really stretch. Michael Sheen is also a great watch as the witty and dry android bar-tender.
In summary, this was a nice premise with great special effects and gorgeous production design, but frustratingly let down with a weak screenplay. With a better script and another 10% of tweaking, this could have been a real sci-fi classic.
The backdrop for “Passengers” is the spaceship “Avalon”, on a 120 year trip taking Earth colonists to the new world of “Homestead 2”. Following an ‘incident’ the story finds two individuals – Jim Preston, played by Chris “Jurassic World” Pratt, and Jennifer “Joy” Lawrence – as the only passengers awake on the automated ship among 5000+ other slumbering souls. It rather goes without saying that with two attractive and bankable Hollywood stars and nothing else to do, the two ‘get it on’. With things on the ship going from bad to worse, the two must work as a team to try to save the ship, crew and fellow passengers from disaster.
As a fan of sci-fi, I’ll start with a positive that the Avalon is a gloriously rendered spacecraft, and many of the scenes of space walking present beautiful cinematography (by Rodrigo Prieto of “The Wolf of Wall Street” and “Argo”). Many of the other special effects in the film – led by special effects supervisor Daniel Sudick, of the Marvel franchise – are spectacularly good, especially one which demonstrates why the lifeguards closed the pool on the International Space Station!
The overall premise of the film is also original and well-conceived, setting up the backdrop for some serious post-watch ethical debate (see spoiler section).
Where the wheels came off for me though is with the script by Jon Spaihts (“Prometheus”, “Doctor Strange”). Some of the dialogue is just appallingly trite, and some of the supposed capabilities of our hero, Preston, are laughable. For example, he possesses an uncanny ability as “an engineer” to open a cabinet of electronics, scan the circuits and say “Nope – that all looks fine”: the next time my washing machine controller packs in, he’s going to be on my speed-dial for sure! And (cue trite line – “every component on the ship has a spare”) Preston immediately finds the required part (curiously, it’s right next to the failing component and not in Bay 67 on cargo deck 327!) and knows how to plug and play it as required.
Chris Pratt; Jennifer Lawrence
Pratt and Lawrence, with Pratt about to debug my washing machine controller just by looking at it.
But, for me, there was one particularly dire point in the script where Spaihts obviously forgets which film he’s writing the scene for and ‘goes superhero’: oh, hang on, Preston doesn’t HAVE any superhero powers! For me, any goodwill the story had built up through to that point get vented into space.
The director is Morten Tyldum, whose “Headhunters” I really enjoyed but who is probably more famous for “The Imitation Game”. Not overawed by the production’s scale, he does a great job of getting good performances out of the rather wooden action hunk that is Chris Pratt and the reliable Oscar-winner Jennifer Lawrence who (apart from one dramatic and emotional scene) the script doesn’t really stretch. Michael Sheen is also a great watch as the witty and dry android bar-tender.
In summary, this was a nice premise with great special effects and gorgeous production design, but frustratingly let down with a weak screenplay. With a better script and another 10% of tweaking, this could have been a real sci-fi classic.
Daniel Boyd (1066 KP) rated T2 Trainspotting (2017) in Movies
Jul 19, 2017
Cast (3 more)
Script
Direction
Soundtrack
Here comes Johnny Yen again...
Choose nostalgia, choose sequels, choose another dose of high energy antics and following four reprobates as they show that although time rolls by, people don’t change. Choose betraying your mates and abandoning them for two decades until you are forced to return home and face your demons. Choose to buy the fact that Renton returns to Edinburgh the same week that Begbie decides to break out of prison after a twenty year stretch and try not to think too much about it. Choose facing the fact that we aren’t getting any younger and not everything works out the way we hope it will. Choose a killer soundtrack, a lighter tone, a witty script and phenomenal direction. Danny Boyle and the cast in this movie have came a long way in the last twenty years and this movie exhibits that awesomely, but doesn’t forget where they came from. This movie was never going to exceed the first movie but it instead functions as a companion piece to the original and actually makes the events of the first movie more meaningful. The film isn’t afraid to play on its legacy and the fact that a good amount of time has passed since the last time we saw these characters, it in fact relies on the time that has past since the original movie. This is one of the best Scottish films ever made and is right up there alongside the original and the two movies together tell a fantastic, gripping and engaging story over a significant period of time.
Sarah (7800 KP) rated Mortal Engines (2018) in Movies
Dec 17, 2018
Pretty good, but with a few issues
I've been wanting to see this since the first trailer was released, and I'm pleased to say it's actually quite good.
The visuals and CGI are very good, the traction cities and towns look fantastic and they're impressively done. Shouldn't be a surprise considering these have been done by Weta. The plot itself is intriguing and fairly unique as far as apocalyptic futures go, although there are a few plot points that are a bit cliched and reminiscent of other sci-fi/fantasy films - the whole final act/ending being the main example.
Hester Shaw is a very strong heroine and a good lead character, although i think she suffers from some bad scripting. Hugo Weaving is doing his Agent Smith best as the villainous Thaddeus Valentine, he really does know how to play a good bad guy. I'm most impressed however with Robert Sheehan. He's a very underrated actor yet seems to have such range and versatility, from his start in the series Misfits to the creepy Vladek in Fortitude, and then his turn as the dashing hero in this, he really made this film worth watching even if the script wasn't always in his favour. The romance aspect of this film too is also a little too forced and not very subtle, and a little bit predictable.
In short this is an interesting story with a great cast and special effects, that is let down by a patchy script and a few cliches. The next book I have to read is this one, so I'm interested to see how the two compare.
The visuals and CGI are very good, the traction cities and towns look fantastic and they're impressively done. Shouldn't be a surprise considering these have been done by Weta. The plot itself is intriguing and fairly unique as far as apocalyptic futures go, although there are a few plot points that are a bit cliched and reminiscent of other sci-fi/fantasy films - the whole final act/ending being the main example.
Hester Shaw is a very strong heroine and a good lead character, although i think she suffers from some bad scripting. Hugo Weaving is doing his Agent Smith best as the villainous Thaddeus Valentine, he really does know how to play a good bad guy. I'm most impressed however with Robert Sheehan. He's a very underrated actor yet seems to have such range and versatility, from his start in the series Misfits to the creepy Vladek in Fortitude, and then his turn as the dashing hero in this, he really made this film worth watching even if the script wasn't always in his favour. The romance aspect of this film too is also a little too forced and not very subtle, and a little bit predictable.
In short this is an interesting story with a great cast and special effects, that is let down by a patchy script and a few cliches. The next book I have to read is this one, so I'm interested to see how the two compare.
Rebecca Billcliff (2409 KP) rated The Last Airbender (2010) in Movies
Jun 24, 2022
The way the pronounce Aang! (5 more)
Acting
Script
The bending!
Casting
Zuko's "scar"
WTF???
No. No, this is not a good film in ANY way!
Just put a pin in the fact that this fill caused fans of the original series to die inside, this was a shit film!
The acting is so wooden, the script makes little sense, the pacing is so off and the one thing that should have been awesome, even if they went way off with the sorce materieal, was the bending. Which SUCKED! So hard! It was so underwhelming. Dude, did you even watch the series!?!?!
So, let's look at some of its other issues:
Aang. How do you pronounce it? We, here is a f***ing clue- WATCH THE SERIES! They say it hundreds of times!!!!
Zuko, one of the best written characters in an animated series with his signature scar that is so central to his journey as a character, reduced to a bit of sunburn!!!!!
How did you mess up Appa!?!?!?! He is a huge fluffy flying byson! He could have saved this film, but he was relegated to basically a background prop!
The bending. What the actual F**K was that!? Lots of dancing, then sometimes some elements move. If you have seen the series, there is no way this did not piss you off. If you have not, please go and watch at least 3 episodes, then tell me I am wrong about how crap this was.
You insulted Iroh, the best character ever that we all need as an uncle!
Just no. So much no. I hate you now.
Just put a pin in the fact that this fill caused fans of the original series to die inside, this was a shit film!
The acting is so wooden, the script makes little sense, the pacing is so off and the one thing that should have been awesome, even if they went way off with the sorce materieal, was the bending. Which SUCKED! So hard! It was so underwhelming. Dude, did you even watch the series!?!?!
So, let's look at some of its other issues:
Aang. How do you pronounce it? We, here is a f***ing clue- WATCH THE SERIES! They say it hundreds of times!!!!
Zuko, one of the best written characters in an animated series with his signature scar that is so central to his journey as a character, reduced to a bit of sunburn!!!!!
How did you mess up Appa!?!?!?! He is a huge fluffy flying byson! He could have saved this film, but he was relegated to basically a background prop!
The bending. What the actual F**K was that!? Lots of dancing, then sometimes some elements move. If you have seen the series, there is no way this did not piss you off. If you have not, please go and watch at least 3 episodes, then tell me I am wrong about how crap this was.
You insulted Iroh, the best character ever that we all need as an uncle!
Just no. So much no. I hate you now.
Death by Smoothie
10.0
Rate It
Book
It’s the funny side of homicide in acclaimed TV comedy writer and novelist Laura Levine’s newest...
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2379 KP) rated Death by Smoothie in Books
Jan 13, 2023 (Updated Jan 13, 2023)
This Smoothie Isn’t Healthy for Someone
Someone is trying to revive the cult classic sitcom I Married a Zombie as a stage musical, and freelance writer Jaine Austen has been hired to punch up the script. Since the producer is also the writer and the star, the script needs a lot of work, but the biggest problem is Misty, the actress hired to play the lead. She can’t act and she can’t remember her lines, but the producer is enchanted with her. That is until someone poisons her afternoon smoothie. Jaine jumps into action to figure out who the killer is. Can she do it?
Anyone familiar with this series will know exactly what to expect here, and they will be delighted by it. It’s more of the same in the best way possible. By my count, we have four sub-plots that weave in and out of the story, and they keep the reader from ever getting bored. The sub-plot involving her parents might be my favorite yet. These sub-plots also help provide plenty of wacky situations, and this book is filled with humor from beginning to end. The characters are a bit more types as a result, created for their humor potential, but they work. The mystery is strong and kept me guessing until the end, even when I thought I had it figured out early on. I was smiling or laughing with every page. It’s always a treat to pick up a book in this series. If you are looking for a light, fun mystery, this is the one for you.
Anyone familiar with this series will know exactly what to expect here, and they will be delighted by it. It’s more of the same in the best way possible. By my count, we have four sub-plots that weave in and out of the story, and they keep the reader from ever getting bored. The sub-plot involving her parents might be my favorite yet. These sub-plots also help provide plenty of wacky situations, and this book is filled with humor from beginning to end. The characters are a bit more types as a result, created for their humor potential, but they work. The mystery is strong and kept me guessing until the end, even when I thought I had it figured out early on. I was smiling or laughing with every page. It’s always a treat to pick up a book in this series. If you are looking for a light, fun mystery, this is the one for you.
Sarah Seymour (3 KP) rated The Expanse - Season 1 in TV
Nov 26, 2017
Gripping and believeable
On a Netflix troll one night we gave this a whirl and ended up binge watching it because we were gripped from the first episode. I loved Firefly and although the plot is very different it reminds me of that show because of how well drawn the characters and world are. Its classed as a space opera so whilst an obvious choice for sci fi fans to give a go I think it would also be worth trying if you just enjoy a good pot-boiler
Niten. NR (75 KP) rated Interstellar (2014) in Movies
Jul 14, 2017
Matthew McConaughey (3 more)
Amazing Script
Mind blowing filming and effects
Amazing soundtrack
Mind Blowing Space Adventure
I read somthwhere recently that many amazing films start with a mundane life and then sends the main characters out of the norm and into a great adventure. This is one of those instances on a epic level. Everything about this is amazing. The storyline is huge but focused, it's adventurous in the extreme and in parts it's very imotional. I can't think of many characters like Copper who are so imotionally driven. The filming is superb, the visual effects of outer space and the planets are amazing. Hans Zimmer wows with a killer soundtrack. Don't slag this film off when I'm around or we'll be having words. I love it!
Daniel Boyd (1066 KP) rated Triple 9 (2016) in Movies
Aug 9, 2017
Forgettable In Every Way
I've seen some awful reviews of Triple 9, ripping the movie apart and claiming it to be the worst movie of 2016. These people clearly haven't seen Independence Day: Resurgence.
It's not a bad movie, nor is it a good movie, it's just nothing. Totally forgettable and unremarkable in every way. These movies are actually the hardest to review, because I have nothing passionate to say either for or against the film. The script is mediocre, the performances are generic, especially for such a talented cast, the direction is functional and the resulting quality of the movie overall is plainly middle of the road as a result.
Give this one a skip, it's not the worst movie that you will ever see, but it's utterly forgettable.
It's not a bad movie, nor is it a good movie, it's just nothing. Totally forgettable and unremarkable in every way. These movies are actually the hardest to review, because I have nothing passionate to say either for or against the film. The script is mediocre, the performances are generic, especially for such a talented cast, the direction is functional and the resulting quality of the movie overall is plainly middle of the road as a result.
Give this one a skip, it's not the worst movie that you will ever see, but it's utterly forgettable.