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Kelly (279 KP) rated The Humanity Bureau (2017) in Movies

Dec 6, 2018

Classical dystopian film (0 more)

Slow pace in parts (1 more)

Predictable

Worth a watch

Contains spoilers, click to show

Nicolas Cage stars in this dystopian film, set in a society where individuals who are believed not to contribute enough to society are sent to ‘New Eden’. Nicolas Cage plays the role of Noah, a government agent, who is sent to assess cases of people who are about to be evicted and transported to New Eden, a place where we are repeatedly told people are never heard from again.

Noah is sent to assess the case of Rachel and Lucas, a mother and son, who are struggling to make ends meat. Noah is quick to give the family an extension, defying orders. This action sparks a response from Noah’s bosses, and forces Noah to support Rachel and Lucas in their escape. The bulk of the movie is focused on the escape of the three across a land that we are told is radioactive and waste land. Elements of this part of the story are very slow paced for my liking, I prefer a bit more action than the behind the wheel reminiscing of Noah.

The plot line does keep its secrets until the end, although these are a little predictable, for example New Eden is a place we’re people do not make it out alive. The most difficult to believe twist though, was that of Lucas being Noah’s son, and Rachel not being the biological mother. I felt that the connection between the characters could have been thought out on a more emotional level, this seemed to be an afterthought forced into the plot in order to ensure that it made more sense.

Perhaps I have watched too many dystopian movies, but I struggled to find any ideas that were really unique to this film, which recycled ideas from stories such as Logan’s run and hunger games.

Overall the acting was good and it was not an overly bad movie, but there were issues with the pace and plot line.

Kudos

Versusyours (757 KP) rated Joker (2019) in Movies

Dec 14, 2019

Joker (2019)

2019 | Crime, Drama

8.5

(147 Ratings)

Movie Rating Watch

The slow paced deterioration of mental health (2 more)

Some terrific portrayals

Cgi sparse

Will it hold up on repeat viewings? (0 more)

Not your usual type of clowning around

After waiting longer than I should have I finally watched Joker and the delay left me with lots of other opinions and views of the impact it has generated.

It is no secret that this film takes a different approach to the comic book genre with no superpowers being gained and focuses more on loss and the power that grows from becoming mentally unstable and damaged by an unforgiving society. It also focused on the ability to become involved in the fame game not for being talented but as a source of ridicule and fun for others, thso is reflected in wider society and is a stark warning about encouraging those that are not near the level of the talented. Take note the Xfactor and other programmes that have advertising funded freak shows and gather round televisions to judge and mock. There are many factors that contribute to the descent into chaos and they are the socioeconomic factors of heriditary mental health, illegitimacy, funding cuts, street violence and the fear of the future.

The climax scenes are hard hitting but not unexpected, the impact at the time was shocking and left a lasting sense of my own unease at the future. My only thoughts on the negative side where the ability for this ending to have the lasting impact on repeat viewings and it's place in film history will be won or lost on how its seen in the upcoming years. Phoenix inhabited the role as Joker and his overall attention to detail allowed the character to form on deeper and emotion levels.

If there are others out there still waiting to see this do it before Xmas as it might be too much to take during the January blues