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Darren (1599 KP) rated Scar (2007) in Movies
Sep 26, 2019
Characters – Joan is a character we meet at two different ages and flashback between through the film, the teenage version of her gets tortured by the serial killer leaving her with the scar on her face. The adult one heads back to her hometown for the first time since to see her niece graduate. When the killings start again she becomes the prime suspect though she believes she killed the killer all those years ago. She must learn who the killer is before her niece goes through the same ordeal she does. Olympia is the niece that is living the normal teenage life graduating only to become the latest target by the killer who has already taken her friends. Bishop is the serial killer that targeted Joan and her friend all those years ago, forcing the through a torturous ordeal, has he return? He enjoys making the victims suffer as he cuts them. We do get to meet other characters who mostly become victims of the killer, each one interacts in their own way.
Performances – Angela Bettis is strong in the leading role of this film, she often took chances on horror and this is one where she can lead the film and deal with the horrors involved. Kirby Bliss Blanton is solid in her role though she doesn’t get as much to do other than be generic teenager. Ben Cotton does make for a good villain that showed just how twisted his character it. The supporting cast are all solid enough without being challenged to do anything to make them standout.
Story – The story follows a victim returning home for the first time only to face a serial killer she believed she had killed to protect her niece. The story does a good job balance the two timelines as we see how Joan is reacting to the ordeal from her first encounter to the new encounter, playing along the lines that she might not be as clean as she thought she was. We also get to deal with how people can become interested in killings over the stories about the killer over the victim. The strangest twist in the film is the fact that another bigger film seemed to use the exact same twist and motives behind the killings, I won’t mention the film because it will ruin the end of the film.
Crime/Horror – The crime side of the film follows the action of the serial killer which plays into the horror because of the torturous nature that they follow through the film, the wounds feel real, look real and brutal with just how they are made to look.
Settings – The film takes place in a small town, which has a reputation, we see the normal locations, but it is in the shadows where we see the killer conduct their actions.
Special Effects – The effects come from the graphic body horror we are put through by the killer, the wounds being enough to make the blood appear over causing fatal wounds.
Scene of the Movie – The killer’s identity.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The killer’s motivation.
Final Thoughts – When it comes to late night horrors sometimes we can just enjoy the events for what they are, this is one of the perfect examples of this giving us horror when we need it and a simple horror to watch.
Overall: Midnight horror treat.
Performances – Angela Bettis is strong in the leading role of this film, she often took chances on horror and this is one where she can lead the film and deal with the horrors involved. Kirby Bliss Blanton is solid in her role though she doesn’t get as much to do other than be generic teenager. Ben Cotton does make for a good villain that showed just how twisted his character it. The supporting cast are all solid enough without being challenged to do anything to make them standout.
Story – The story follows a victim returning home for the first time only to face a serial killer she believed she had killed to protect her niece. The story does a good job balance the two timelines as we see how Joan is reacting to the ordeal from her first encounter to the new encounter, playing along the lines that she might not be as clean as she thought she was. We also get to deal with how people can become interested in killings over the stories about the killer over the victim. The strangest twist in the film is the fact that another bigger film seemed to use the exact same twist and motives behind the killings, I won’t mention the film because it will ruin the end of the film.
Crime/Horror – The crime side of the film follows the action of the serial killer which plays into the horror because of the torturous nature that they follow through the film, the wounds feel real, look real and brutal with just how they are made to look.
Settings – The film takes place in a small town, which has a reputation, we see the normal locations, but it is in the shadows where we see the killer conduct their actions.
Special Effects – The effects come from the graphic body horror we are put through by the killer, the wounds being enough to make the blood appear over causing fatal wounds.
Scene of the Movie – The killer’s identity.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The killer’s motivation.
Final Thoughts – When it comes to late night horrors sometimes we can just enjoy the events for what they are, this is one of the perfect examples of this giving us horror when we need it and a simple horror to watch.
Overall: Midnight horror treat.
Darren (1599 KP) rated Eternal Code (2019) in Movies
Sep 13, 2019
Characters – Corey is a homeless suicidal war veteran, he keeps to himself and when he gets given money, he spends the money on helping the fellow homeless, being friendly with lonely older men in the park and helping somebody in danger. He will get a chance to use his skills once again to help a teenage girl who is being hunted down by criminals, his skills will help make him deadly to anyone who crosses his path. Oliver is the leader of the project, he wants to continue using it for his own good, which means he will go to the extremes to make sure it gets done. Charlie is one of the criminals that has taken the family members, she along with her team are solely in this for the money. Mark is the husband of Bridget, he tries to advice, even though he will only support her decision. Bridget is the woman that has invented a revolutionary idea, which she doesn’t want used for the wrong thing, her pulling the plug has set about the events including her kidnapping.
Performances – This is a movie that does try to use the biggest names to sale the movie, Scout Taylor-Compton being the biggest name in the film, even though she is mostly just a criminal thug, she doesn’t give us a bad performance, just she isn’t really a main character. Damien Chinappi would be one of the leads in the film as the he does bring us a performance that does fit the action side of the film, where we do feel sympathy for his character. Richard Tyson will always make for a great villain and this is no different. When we look at the rest of the cast, we see solid performances across the board.
Story – The story here follows the events of a kidnapping which takes a turn, when a war veteran looks to help the helpless, while a corrupt businessman looks to complete a project which will change everything as we know it in the world. When it comes to the idea of the kidnapping side of the story, we do get a nice spin on how everything unfolds, making it truly unpredictable with what will happen next. While that is a good thing, it can mean we do meet a couple of too many characters, which doesn’t let other get flushed out enough. We are left with seeing just how dealing with inventions will see people looking for greed, while seeing a war veteran getting another shot to prove himself in combat is nice to see.
Action – The action is restricted, but it does show how the conflicts are meant to be edgy and more in the shadows which is better to watch for the tone.
Settings – The film is set in and around one city which shows how the minds in it would operate, we see how the project would be secretly locked away from the world and see how the criminals will act in the shadows of abandoned locations.
Scene of the Movie – Corey military trained scenes.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – It does feel like we have a few too many characters at time.
Final Thoughts – This is an action thriller that does have a lot of direction you wouldn’t normally see, it does keep us guessing despite having a couple of characters we don’t need to have.
Overall: Action film that goes down different paves.
Performances – This is a movie that does try to use the biggest names to sale the movie, Scout Taylor-Compton being the biggest name in the film, even though she is mostly just a criminal thug, she doesn’t give us a bad performance, just she isn’t really a main character. Damien Chinappi would be one of the leads in the film as the he does bring us a performance that does fit the action side of the film, where we do feel sympathy for his character. Richard Tyson will always make for a great villain and this is no different. When we look at the rest of the cast, we see solid performances across the board.
Story – The story here follows the events of a kidnapping which takes a turn, when a war veteran looks to help the helpless, while a corrupt businessman looks to complete a project which will change everything as we know it in the world. When it comes to the idea of the kidnapping side of the story, we do get a nice spin on how everything unfolds, making it truly unpredictable with what will happen next. While that is a good thing, it can mean we do meet a couple of too many characters, which doesn’t let other get flushed out enough. We are left with seeing just how dealing with inventions will see people looking for greed, while seeing a war veteran getting another shot to prove himself in combat is nice to see.
Action – The action is restricted, but it does show how the conflicts are meant to be edgy and more in the shadows which is better to watch for the tone.
Settings – The film is set in and around one city which shows how the minds in it would operate, we see how the project would be secretly locked away from the world and see how the criminals will act in the shadows of abandoned locations.
Scene of the Movie – Corey military trained scenes.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – It does feel like we have a few too many characters at time.
Final Thoughts – This is an action thriller that does have a lot of direction you wouldn’t normally see, it does keep us guessing despite having a couple of characters we don’t need to have.
Overall: Action film that goes down different paves.
Fred (860 KP) rated Scoob (2020) in Movies
May 16, 2020
Enjoyable enough
The movie was enjoyable enough & I would probably watch it again, just to try to catch the little Hanna-Barbera references throughout it. The movie starts with the meeting of the gang & then, using a very cool remake of the original theme song sequence, moves ahead to when the gang are already seasoned "monster" hunters. But although I did enjoy it, it had a lot of problems.
Most notably, the voice acting. For some reason, instead of sticking with the current actors who do the character's voices, they decided to replace them with more well known actors. Problem is, most of them sound nothing like the characters, it kind of throws everything off. Will Forte may be the exception as his Shaggy is close enough & of course we do have Scooby's current voice, Frank Welker as Scooby. But then, this is where it gets silly. You have Frank Welker, the original voice of Fred in your movie, but you decide not to use him as Fred. WTF? Really? So you got Fred, Velma & Daphnie played by actors that sound nothing like the characters. Quick mention too about the voices of the main characters when they were kids. Terrible & annoying (quick enough?). The movie also features Blue Falcon & Dyno-Mutt. Since this is not supposed to be the original Blue Falcon, his voice change is acceptable. However, Ken Jeong is just a weird choice for Dyno-Mutt. The character has no personality & is nothing like the character should be. And to be honest, I didn't like the role reversal of Falcon being a coward & Dyno-Mutt not being a screw-up. The main villain of the film, Dick Dastardly, is voiced well, but just like the others, sounds nothing like the original voices, so it throws it off. In fact, if they had not said his name was Dick Dastardly, I would have no idea it was supposed to be Dick Dastardly.
So now, let's talk about Dick Dastardly. In the cartoons, it was either just he & his dog Muttley being the bad guys or he had a few others try to help him. But in this film, they instead have him with a whole slew of robot minions, who I guess were supposed to be like the Minions of Despicable Me, but these guys have no personality at all & the character & the film suffer because of this.
There is also another character in the film. She's Blue Falcon's.....something. Sidekick? Helper? I don't remember her name, nor do I care. She is utterly forgettable & useless. But she's the only person of color I can think of in the movie, so I guess that's why she's there. That's fine, but I wish she had a more prominent role, rather than just be there to fill a gap.
So, why did I like the movie then? Well, it's fun & there were many times I laughed out loud. there were jokes that kid's would definitely not get, that I did. The animation is top-notch & beautiful to watch. There is also a lot of nostalgia factor, whether you're a fan of Scooby or of the dozens of other Hanna-Barbera cartoons of the 70s. The story works well enough, for a Scooby Doo movie& the pacing is nice. There are no points where the movie gets slow or boring. Like I said, I'd probably watch it again & that's good enough.
Most notably, the voice acting. For some reason, instead of sticking with the current actors who do the character's voices, they decided to replace them with more well known actors. Problem is, most of them sound nothing like the characters, it kind of throws everything off. Will Forte may be the exception as his Shaggy is close enough & of course we do have Scooby's current voice, Frank Welker as Scooby. But then, this is where it gets silly. You have Frank Welker, the original voice of Fred in your movie, but you decide not to use him as Fred. WTF? Really? So you got Fred, Velma & Daphnie played by actors that sound nothing like the characters. Quick mention too about the voices of the main characters when they were kids. Terrible & annoying (quick enough?). The movie also features Blue Falcon & Dyno-Mutt. Since this is not supposed to be the original Blue Falcon, his voice change is acceptable. However, Ken Jeong is just a weird choice for Dyno-Mutt. The character has no personality & is nothing like the character should be. And to be honest, I didn't like the role reversal of Falcon being a coward & Dyno-Mutt not being a screw-up. The main villain of the film, Dick Dastardly, is voiced well, but just like the others, sounds nothing like the original voices, so it throws it off. In fact, if they had not said his name was Dick Dastardly, I would have no idea it was supposed to be Dick Dastardly.
So now, let's talk about Dick Dastardly. In the cartoons, it was either just he & his dog Muttley being the bad guys or he had a few others try to help him. But in this film, they instead have him with a whole slew of robot minions, who I guess were supposed to be like the Minions of Despicable Me, but these guys have no personality at all & the character & the film suffer because of this.
There is also another character in the film. She's Blue Falcon's.....something. Sidekick? Helper? I don't remember her name, nor do I care. She is utterly forgettable & useless. But she's the only person of color I can think of in the movie, so I guess that's why she's there. That's fine, but I wish she had a more prominent role, rather than just be there to fill a gap.
So, why did I like the movie then? Well, it's fun & there were many times I laughed out loud. there were jokes that kid's would definitely not get, that I did. The animation is top-notch & beautiful to watch. There is also a lot of nostalgia factor, whether you're a fan of Scooby or of the dozens of other Hanna-Barbera cartoons of the 70s. The story works well enough, for a Scooby Doo movie& the pacing is nice. There are no points where the movie gets slow or boring. Like I said, I'd probably watch it again & that's good enough.
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Training Day (2001) in Movies
Jun 11, 2020
King Kong Ain't Got Shit On Ms
I love this movie, i have seen it about 5-7 times now. It is on my top ten films of all time. I love Denzel Performace, he played as a excellent villian, and he should do it more often, cause he doesnt play the villian that much, the only other film I can think of is "American Gangster" and thats it.
The plot: Police drama about a veteran officer who escorts a rookie on his first day with the LAPD's tough inner-city narcotics unit. "Training Day" is a blistering action drama that asks the audience to decide what is necessary, what is heroic and what crosses the line in the harrowing gray zone of fighting urban crime. Does law-abiding law enforcement come at the expense of justice and public safety? If so, do we demand safe streets at any cost?
In June 2003, the American Film Institute named Alonzo Harris the 50th greatest screen villain of all time in its list AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains.
Also excellent quotes like..
"You gotta be a wolf to catch a wolf."
"You gotta control your smiles & cries because that's all you have & nobody can take that away from you."
"You wanna go to jail or you wanna go home?"
"To protect the sheep you gotta catch the wolf, and it takes a wolf to catch a wolf."
"I've been planning this all week, son. You talk that crazy shit, I'll make sure that blood gets to the lab. You wanna walk your baby nuts around the block, you won't make it to the corner, but if you're cool, if you're cool... then you're a hero. You're a virgin shooter above suspicion."
"You don't know any stories? Okay, I'll tell you a story. This is a newspaper. It's 90 per cent bullshit, but it's entertaining. That's why I read it, because it entertains me. You won't let me read it, so you entertain me with your bullshit. Tell me a story, right now."
"This shit's chess, it ain't checkers."
"You got a dick. You do have a dick, don't you? Okay, the dick lines up straight like that right? To the right of it and to the left of it are pockets, right? In those pockets are money. Look in either one of 'em, pay the bill."
And of course..
"Aww, you motherfuckers. Okay. Alright. I'm putting cases on all you bitches. Huh. You think you can do this shit... Jake. You think you can do this to me? You motherfuckers will be playing basketball in Pelican Bay when I get finished with you. SHU program, nigga. 23 hour lockdown. I'm the man up in this piece. You'll never see the light of... who the fuck do you think you're fucking with? I'm the police, I run shit around here. You just live here. Yeah, that's right, you better walk away. Go on and walk away... 'cause I'm gonna' burn this motherfucker down. King Kong ain't got shit on me. That's right, that's right. Shit, I don't, fuck. I'm winning anyway, I'm winning... I'm winning any motherfucking way. I can't lose. Yeah, you can shoot me, but you can't kill me."
Its a excellent, phenomenal movie and a must watch film.
The plot: Police drama about a veteran officer who escorts a rookie on his first day with the LAPD's tough inner-city narcotics unit. "Training Day" is a blistering action drama that asks the audience to decide what is necessary, what is heroic and what crosses the line in the harrowing gray zone of fighting urban crime. Does law-abiding law enforcement come at the expense of justice and public safety? If so, do we demand safe streets at any cost?
In June 2003, the American Film Institute named Alonzo Harris the 50th greatest screen villain of all time in its list AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains.
Also excellent quotes like..
"You gotta be a wolf to catch a wolf."
"You gotta control your smiles & cries because that's all you have & nobody can take that away from you."
"You wanna go to jail or you wanna go home?"
"To protect the sheep you gotta catch the wolf, and it takes a wolf to catch a wolf."
"I've been planning this all week, son. You talk that crazy shit, I'll make sure that blood gets to the lab. You wanna walk your baby nuts around the block, you won't make it to the corner, but if you're cool, if you're cool... then you're a hero. You're a virgin shooter above suspicion."
"You don't know any stories? Okay, I'll tell you a story. This is a newspaper. It's 90 per cent bullshit, but it's entertaining. That's why I read it, because it entertains me. You won't let me read it, so you entertain me with your bullshit. Tell me a story, right now."
"This shit's chess, it ain't checkers."
"You got a dick. You do have a dick, don't you? Okay, the dick lines up straight like that right? To the right of it and to the left of it are pockets, right? In those pockets are money. Look in either one of 'em, pay the bill."
And of course..
"Aww, you motherfuckers. Okay. Alright. I'm putting cases on all you bitches. Huh. You think you can do this shit... Jake. You think you can do this to me? You motherfuckers will be playing basketball in Pelican Bay when I get finished with you. SHU program, nigga. 23 hour lockdown. I'm the man up in this piece. You'll never see the light of... who the fuck do you think you're fucking with? I'm the police, I run shit around here. You just live here. Yeah, that's right, you better walk away. Go on and walk away... 'cause I'm gonna' burn this motherfucker down. King Kong ain't got shit on me. That's right, that's right. Shit, I don't, fuck. I'm winning anyway, I'm winning... I'm winning any motherfucking way. I can't lose. Yeah, you can shoot me, but you can't kill me."
Its a excellent, phenomenal movie and a must watch film.
Adventure Time Game Wizard - Draw Your Own Adventure Time Games
Games and Entertainment
App
"Truly innovative and potentially infinite, Adventure Time Game Wizard is an essential purchase for...
BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated Avatar: The Way of Water (2021) in Movies
Jan 2, 2023
Strong Visuals - Weak Everything Else
See AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER on the biggest 3D Screen, with the best Sound System possible. It is a technical marvel…way ahead of anything that has, thus far, been seen on a movie screen.
It’s too bad the story (and characters) lag far behind.
Taking the audience back to the world of Pandora, AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER treads familiar territory as Director James Cameron returns us to this idyllic planet, with the natives living peacefully, in concert with the land, until the soldiers from Earth show up (again) to strip the planet of it’s native contents (again).
Cameron (TITANTIC) expands this 3D World, bringing the audience from the trees to the water - and what an expansion this is! It is a BEAUTIFUL film to watch and Cameron (as one would expect) expertly pushes the technological edges of the industry, bringing us stunning visuals underwater. It is this part of the more than 3 hour film that is worth the price of admission alone. It is a feast for the eyes.
But what Cameron (and his FOUR writers of the script - never a good sign) fail to do is to add interesting characters and stories to these amazing visuals. It is a pretty straight forward telling of Good (the native peoples) vs. Evil (the invading soldiers from Earth). There is no nuance or subtly whatsoever throughout this film.
Back from the first film are Sam Worthington (just as wooden and uninteresting), Zoe Saldana (just as underused) and Stephen Lang (just as one-note as the villain). Obviously, it is just their voices used - for they are all rendered as Pandorans via motion-capture - but they don’t have much to do except be one with the nature (the good guys) or destroy nature (the soldiers).
Joining the cast - and just as underused - are Cliff Curtis, CCH Pounder and, especially, Kate Winslet. Cameron brings in some really fine performers who have to spout wooden dialogue that would make George Lucas blush - all the while performing in motion capture suits. This movie could have been so much better had Cameron given these actors something better and more interesting to do.
The only exception to this is the young actress (so I thought) that portrayed Kiri - who is the daughter of the Sigourney Weaver character from the first film. This Pandoran was born under mysterious circumstances (Virgin birth? Do we have a Messiah?) and is more in tune with the nature of the world they live in. This young actress had the most interesting things to do and she absolutely nailed it, so I should not have been surprised to find out that this “young actress” was none other than - Sigourney Weaver.
Well done, Cameron and Weaver. You got me on this one.
This film (the second in what will be a trilogy - or maybe more) has a run time of over 3 hours - so be warned - but Cameron keeps things moving along at a sprightly pace, never lingering over the clunky dialogue, but stopping to watch the beautiful visuals along the way.
AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER is worth watching for the water and the stunning visuals…but not for much else.
Letter Grade: B+ (10 for the visuals, 5 for the story)
7 1/2 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
It’s too bad the story (and characters) lag far behind.
Taking the audience back to the world of Pandora, AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER treads familiar territory as Director James Cameron returns us to this idyllic planet, with the natives living peacefully, in concert with the land, until the soldiers from Earth show up (again) to strip the planet of it’s native contents (again).
Cameron (TITANTIC) expands this 3D World, bringing the audience from the trees to the water - and what an expansion this is! It is a BEAUTIFUL film to watch and Cameron (as one would expect) expertly pushes the technological edges of the industry, bringing us stunning visuals underwater. It is this part of the more than 3 hour film that is worth the price of admission alone. It is a feast for the eyes.
But what Cameron (and his FOUR writers of the script - never a good sign) fail to do is to add interesting characters and stories to these amazing visuals. It is a pretty straight forward telling of Good (the native peoples) vs. Evil (the invading soldiers from Earth). There is no nuance or subtly whatsoever throughout this film.
Back from the first film are Sam Worthington (just as wooden and uninteresting), Zoe Saldana (just as underused) and Stephen Lang (just as one-note as the villain). Obviously, it is just their voices used - for they are all rendered as Pandorans via motion-capture - but they don’t have much to do except be one with the nature (the good guys) or destroy nature (the soldiers).
Joining the cast - and just as underused - are Cliff Curtis, CCH Pounder and, especially, Kate Winslet. Cameron brings in some really fine performers who have to spout wooden dialogue that would make George Lucas blush - all the while performing in motion capture suits. This movie could have been so much better had Cameron given these actors something better and more interesting to do.
The only exception to this is the young actress (so I thought) that portrayed Kiri - who is the daughter of the Sigourney Weaver character from the first film. This Pandoran was born under mysterious circumstances (Virgin birth? Do we have a Messiah?) and is more in tune with the nature of the world they live in. This young actress had the most interesting things to do and she absolutely nailed it, so I should not have been surprised to find out that this “young actress” was none other than - Sigourney Weaver.
Well done, Cameron and Weaver. You got me on this one.
This film (the second in what will be a trilogy - or maybe more) has a run time of over 3 hours - so be warned - but Cameron keeps things moving along at a sprightly pace, never lingering over the clunky dialogue, but stopping to watch the beautiful visuals along the way.
AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER is worth watching for the water and the stunning visuals…but not for much else.
Letter Grade: B+ (10 for the visuals, 5 for the story)
7 1/2 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022) in Movies
Nov 18, 2022
Should have been called WAKANDA MOURNS
The passing of Chadwick Boseman from cancer is a unfortunate and sad thing. The makers of the Black Panther series of films for the MCU had a difficult task to accomplish. How do they pay tribute to their lost lead while also leading the series in a new direction? In the end, they ultimately decided to lean INTO (and not away from) his passing - and your emotional involvement in this film will be predicated on how you react to this, for basing an entire SuperHero Movie on grief and longing for a return to the past is not going to make the “feel good movie of the year”.
Directed and Written (with Joe Robert Cole) by Ryan Coogler (he of the first BLACK PANTHER film), BLACK PANTHER:WAKANDA FOREVER starts on a somber note with the off-screen passing of King T’Chala and the grief and celebration of life for him by his Sister Suri (Letitia Wright) and Mother Queen Ramonda (Angela Basset), both of whom are reprising their roles from previous MCU outings. This is all well and good and Basset, especially, shines in these early parts of the film for she is one of the best actresses working today and she rises above the material (and, if I’m honest, the other actors on the screen) to show actual grief and sorrow on the screen. Some are calling for her to be nominated for an Oscar for this role and she would be a deserved recipient of this.
With that out of the way, it’s time for this film to move on to it’s current adventure and the emergence of a new Black Panther. But, Coogler doesn’t do that, he hangs onto the grief, anger and sorrow that is being felt and this mood permeates the entire film - to, ultimately, it’s detriment.
Newcomer (at least to the MCU) Tenoch Huerta (THE FOREVER PURGE) shows up as Namor, the Sub-Mariner, the villain of the piece and he is formidable enough but with the lack of a Black Panther to battle him, it doesn’t seem like a fair fight. Suri, Okoye (Danai Gurira), M’Baku (Winston Duke) and the Dora Milaje (with Florence Kasumba and Michaela Coel being at the forefront - and they are terrific) all are game at the battles and trying to make it to the forefront. But this Wakandan group needed something.
They needed Chadwick Boseman.
While Angela Bassett was the star power the film needed in the first half of the film, Lupita Nyong’o filled that bill in the 2nd half and it was comforting to see her - and her character, Nakia - back in the MCU.
Unfortunately, the character that didn’t really gel was the catalyst to the conflict, Riri Williams (and her MCU SuperHero alter-ego Ironheart) played by Dominique Thorne. This character felt tacked onto this story and her Superhero origins were not really explained, so one will just need to “go with me here” on this one.
Because their is no real emotional center to the battles, they felt like CGI forces fighting CGI forces and the underwater scenery was “fine” but nothing special.
As stated earlier, this film has a dour, mourning mood to it throughout, making it feel more like a morose DC film than a life-affirming, fun MCU film. So just be prepared for that.
BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER should have been titled BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA MOURNS and it would have been a more accurate title.
Letter Grade: B
7 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
Directed and Written (with Joe Robert Cole) by Ryan Coogler (he of the first BLACK PANTHER film), BLACK PANTHER:WAKANDA FOREVER starts on a somber note with the off-screen passing of King T’Chala and the grief and celebration of life for him by his Sister Suri (Letitia Wright) and Mother Queen Ramonda (Angela Basset), both of whom are reprising their roles from previous MCU outings. This is all well and good and Basset, especially, shines in these early parts of the film for she is one of the best actresses working today and she rises above the material (and, if I’m honest, the other actors on the screen) to show actual grief and sorrow on the screen. Some are calling for her to be nominated for an Oscar for this role and she would be a deserved recipient of this.
With that out of the way, it’s time for this film to move on to it’s current adventure and the emergence of a new Black Panther. But, Coogler doesn’t do that, he hangs onto the grief, anger and sorrow that is being felt and this mood permeates the entire film - to, ultimately, it’s detriment.
Newcomer (at least to the MCU) Tenoch Huerta (THE FOREVER PURGE) shows up as Namor, the Sub-Mariner, the villain of the piece and he is formidable enough but with the lack of a Black Panther to battle him, it doesn’t seem like a fair fight. Suri, Okoye (Danai Gurira), M’Baku (Winston Duke) and the Dora Milaje (with Florence Kasumba and Michaela Coel being at the forefront - and they are terrific) all are game at the battles and trying to make it to the forefront. But this Wakandan group needed something.
They needed Chadwick Boseman.
While Angela Bassett was the star power the film needed in the first half of the film, Lupita Nyong’o filled that bill in the 2nd half and it was comforting to see her - and her character, Nakia - back in the MCU.
Unfortunately, the character that didn’t really gel was the catalyst to the conflict, Riri Williams (and her MCU SuperHero alter-ego Ironheart) played by Dominique Thorne. This character felt tacked onto this story and her Superhero origins were not really explained, so one will just need to “go with me here” on this one.
Because their is no real emotional center to the battles, they felt like CGI forces fighting CGI forces and the underwater scenery was “fine” but nothing special.
As stated earlier, this film has a dour, mourning mood to it throughout, making it feel more like a morose DC film than a life-affirming, fun MCU film. So just be prepared for that.
BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER should have been titled BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA MOURNS and it would have been a more accurate title.
Letter Grade: B
7 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated Morbius (2022) in Movies
Jul 7, 2022
It's Not Bad...It's Stupid
“It’s not as bad as you heard”, is certainly the very definition of damning something with faint praise, but that is exactly the right thing to say about the 2022 Sony Comic Book Film Adaptation of MORBIUS.
Starring Jared Leto, MORBIUS follows the origin story - and first adventure - of Spiderman villain Morbius who, inexplicably, becomes the hero in this story.
While, ultimately, not a good film, there are some good things happening here, so let’s begin there.
The lead performance by Jared Leto as Dr. Michael Morbius is - very surprisingly - somewhat grounded in reality. Leto is not one to be subtle in his character choices (see HOUSE OF GUCCI) but in this one, he is (somewhat) reserved. It would have been easy for Leto to go over the top with this character, but he wisely chooses the opposite route…and it works. The always watchable Jared Harris (CHERNOBYL) is on-board in the “mentor” role while Tyrese Gibson and Al Madrigal bring some humor to the proceedings as “Agents” who are chasing after Morbius. The rest of the cast are benign - neither adding nor detracting from the proceedings - with the exception of Matt Smith (LAST NIGHT IN SOHO) who’s character is so badly written that he flounders under the weight of the absurdity of what his character is tasked with.
Trying to overcome the ridiculousness of the story is the Direction by Daniel Espinosa (the Denzel Washington action flick SAFE HOUSE). He moves the action along quickly, never really lingering on the absurdities of the events going on (and there are PLENTY of absurdities to avoid - more on that later) and Espinosa actually has an artistic vision of what he wanted to accomplish visually in this comic-book film, freezing many frames when the picture on the screen looked like a page from a graphic novel. It’s a smart choice for a film that can only be described as dumb.
And dumb this film is. I kept feeling any sense of common sense and reality slip away as this film - written by Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless - quickly devolved into the absurd and ridiculous. One does have to suspend belief when watching Comic Book films (how else are we going to believe that a man can turn into a human spider) but in this case, the suspension is mighty - it is one of the dumbest films ever made (in terms of plot and situations) and that is saying something. The makers of this film really stretch the term “go with me here” as Morbius is constantly chasing and evolving and being chased in the most absurd ways throughout this film with special effects that add to the absurdity of the proceedings. To be fair, this film never falls into the “so bad it’s good” range, it hovers just above that line.
The end credits scenes start to setup a “Sinister Six” Spiderman film, so there is some hope for this - it would be interesting to see Leto’s Morbius team up with some other Spiderman villains (who’s names would be a spoiler), provided the script is better. There’s no way that it can be worse.
MORBIUS is not a bad film - it just will insult your intelligence.
Letter Grade: C
4 Stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
Starring Jared Leto, MORBIUS follows the origin story - and first adventure - of Spiderman villain Morbius who, inexplicably, becomes the hero in this story.
While, ultimately, not a good film, there are some good things happening here, so let’s begin there.
The lead performance by Jared Leto as Dr. Michael Morbius is - very surprisingly - somewhat grounded in reality. Leto is not one to be subtle in his character choices (see HOUSE OF GUCCI) but in this one, he is (somewhat) reserved. It would have been easy for Leto to go over the top with this character, but he wisely chooses the opposite route…and it works. The always watchable Jared Harris (CHERNOBYL) is on-board in the “mentor” role while Tyrese Gibson and Al Madrigal bring some humor to the proceedings as “Agents” who are chasing after Morbius. The rest of the cast are benign - neither adding nor detracting from the proceedings - with the exception of Matt Smith (LAST NIGHT IN SOHO) who’s character is so badly written that he flounders under the weight of the absurdity of what his character is tasked with.
Trying to overcome the ridiculousness of the story is the Direction by Daniel Espinosa (the Denzel Washington action flick SAFE HOUSE). He moves the action along quickly, never really lingering on the absurdities of the events going on (and there are PLENTY of absurdities to avoid - more on that later) and Espinosa actually has an artistic vision of what he wanted to accomplish visually in this comic-book film, freezing many frames when the picture on the screen looked like a page from a graphic novel. It’s a smart choice for a film that can only be described as dumb.
And dumb this film is. I kept feeling any sense of common sense and reality slip away as this film - written by Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless - quickly devolved into the absurd and ridiculous. One does have to suspend belief when watching Comic Book films (how else are we going to believe that a man can turn into a human spider) but in this case, the suspension is mighty - it is one of the dumbest films ever made (in terms of plot and situations) and that is saying something. The makers of this film really stretch the term “go with me here” as Morbius is constantly chasing and evolving and being chased in the most absurd ways throughout this film with special effects that add to the absurdity of the proceedings. To be fair, this film never falls into the “so bad it’s good” range, it hovers just above that line.
The end credits scenes start to setup a “Sinister Six” Spiderman film, so there is some hope for this - it would be interesting to see Leto’s Morbius team up with some other Spiderman villains (who’s names would be a spoiler), provided the script is better. There’s no way that it can be worse.
MORBIUS is not a bad film - it just will insult your intelligence.
Letter Grade: C
4 Stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023) in Movies
May 31, 2023
Life as a teenager is never easy and when you are gifted with the superhuman abilities of a spider and lead a double life as a student and crime fighter; life gets even harder.
Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) is finding it even harder to hide his secret from his family who has grown concerned that his erratic behavior is more than the usual teenage angst.
In another earth, Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld) deals with her Police officer father desperately hunting down her alter-ego believing that she is a killer which drives a wedge between them as Gwen desperately tries to find her way forward.
In “Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse audiences learn that what one perceives as reality is often just the corner of a much larger picture and when Miles confronts what he dismisses as a “Villain of the Week” in a quirky enemy known as The Spot (Jason Schwartzman), starts a campaign against Spider-Man, he soon finds that the threat is much larger than he expected and secretly follows a visiting Gwen into an another Earth where his actions soon draw the attention of a larger temporal Spider squad.
Motivated by his feelings for Gwen and a desire to do good, Miles looks to undo the damage that the Spot is causing across various Earths and learns that each one has its own version of Spider-man or Woman to protect it.
At this point the film goes into overdrive as Miles learns more about his past and how he became Spider-Man but also learns more about the cost that his powers enact on his life and those around him. There are plenty of special moments and guest appearances that follow from the more obscure to the mainstream and the range of emotions from the audience at the press screening as they reacted to the film showed they were deeply engaged and loving it.
The film does take a darker turn and does end in a cliffhanger which sets up the next film very well but also may be a bit darker than younger viewers might want. That being said; I enjoyed this film far more than I did the prior film. I found the animation style a bit off-putting as the jerky way the characters moved was a bit much over the length of a feature film. This time around there is a mix of animation styles throughout and at times in the same frame which may be a bit hard for some as the film does come at the viewer with waves of flashing lights, sounds, and animations that very cleverly mimic reading a comic complete with small boxes to define various characters from time to time.
The film runs nearly two and a half hours and did seem to go on a bit long at times but thanks to the great voice-acting and strong cast as well as engaging storyline I found myself eagerly looking forward to the next film.
I first saw a rough cut of a scene at Cinemacon in 2022 and it was amazing seeing the final scene near the opening of the film as it was a rare instance of a film surpassing expectations and delivers the storyline and action with a good dose of solid characters that fans will love.
4.5 stars out of 5
Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) is finding it even harder to hide his secret from his family who has grown concerned that his erratic behavior is more than the usual teenage angst.
In another earth, Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld) deals with her Police officer father desperately hunting down her alter-ego believing that she is a killer which drives a wedge between them as Gwen desperately tries to find her way forward.
In “Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse audiences learn that what one perceives as reality is often just the corner of a much larger picture and when Miles confronts what he dismisses as a “Villain of the Week” in a quirky enemy known as The Spot (Jason Schwartzman), starts a campaign against Spider-Man, he soon finds that the threat is much larger than he expected and secretly follows a visiting Gwen into an another Earth where his actions soon draw the attention of a larger temporal Spider squad.
Motivated by his feelings for Gwen and a desire to do good, Miles looks to undo the damage that the Spot is causing across various Earths and learns that each one has its own version of Spider-man or Woman to protect it.
At this point the film goes into overdrive as Miles learns more about his past and how he became Spider-Man but also learns more about the cost that his powers enact on his life and those around him. There are plenty of special moments and guest appearances that follow from the more obscure to the mainstream and the range of emotions from the audience at the press screening as they reacted to the film showed they were deeply engaged and loving it.
The film does take a darker turn and does end in a cliffhanger which sets up the next film very well but also may be a bit darker than younger viewers might want. That being said; I enjoyed this film far more than I did the prior film. I found the animation style a bit off-putting as the jerky way the characters moved was a bit much over the length of a feature film. This time around there is a mix of animation styles throughout and at times in the same frame which may be a bit hard for some as the film does come at the viewer with waves of flashing lights, sounds, and animations that very cleverly mimic reading a comic complete with small boxes to define various characters from time to time.
The film runs nearly two and a half hours and did seem to go on a bit long at times but thanks to the great voice-acting and strong cast as well as engaging storyline I found myself eagerly looking forward to the next film.
I first saw a rough cut of a scene at Cinemacon in 2022 and it was amazing seeing the final scene near the opening of the film as it was a rare instance of a film surpassing expectations and delivers the storyline and action with a good dose of solid characters that fans will love.
4.5 stars out of 5
Connor Sheffield (293 KP) rated The Crow (1994) in Movies
Apr 19, 2017
Close to the source material (2 more)
Great Cast
A powerful and emotional film
A Powerful Classic
The Crow is one of my all time favourite films as well as one of my all time favourite graphic novels.
This Gothic, fantasy action film has a tragic story that's powerful to behold as we witness what the power of revenge can do to a person. However, this isn't your typical revenge plot, because SPOILERS!
Eric Draven, portrayed by the incredible Brandon Lee (son of Bruce Lee), is actual brought back from the dead as an avenging angel, after he and his fiance were murdered by a group of thugs on Devils Night (the night before Halloween).
If you've read the graphic novel you'll know just how great this film is, and the only downside to it is knowing it was Brandon Lee's last after an accident that happened on set.
However, the film sticks close to the source material, especially since James O'Barr, the creator of the characters and the graphic novel worked closely with the cast and crew of the film to ensure it was done correctly.
The tone of the film is, for obvious reasons, dark but there is still humour in it which lightens the mood and gives you a sense of Eric Draven's mind because let's face it, coming back from the dead with the ability to heal any wound, and the opportunity to get revenge on those who wronged you, it's enough to send a sensible man insane, and we see that shine through Brandon Lee performance with jokes and laughter, whilst still remaining eerily dark and twisted. When the bad guys realise he heals any wounds and can't die...You can see how much Eric enjoys seeing the fear grow in their faces, and as the strong unfolds we learn that the group of thugs who committed the crime, were just pawns to a bigger villain leading a crime syndicate in the city.
We see emotion as Eric tries to find out the truth of what really happened that night, and why he and his fiance lost their lives, and we see him trying to connect to his past through Sarah, a young girl that he and his fiance looked after and cared for. We also see the truth unfold through Officer Albrecht who was in charge of the investigation.
The characters are all brilliantly written, from Sarah's childhood innocence becoming a more mature sense of realising that the world can't always be a happy place, to Eric's lust for revenger and being sidetracked by emotions of his former life, trying to remain a good person whilst committing these acts of murder for revenge.
The music in the film really fits the scenes and the feel of the entire story with bands like The Cure, Pantera, Rage Against The Machine and Stone Temple Pilots among others, its soundtrack is brilliantly dark.
Also the main aspect that you have to love is Brandon Lee in the crow makeup and clothing. He looks menacing, he looks like he has a lust for revenge, most importantly he looks badass! One of the greatest comic book characters in film that I have ever seen, and whilst I was a little wary of the talks to remake this film in 2016/2017, I would be curious to see the character brought to life again and given a fresh look but I don't know if anyone can beat Brandon Lee in that portrayal because he looks incredible.
This film is dark, powerful, moving and poetic and will remain one of my top 5 films of all time. Maybe even top 3.
I highly recommend this film to anyone who enjoys a comic book movie, especially if you like movies with action and drama with a Gothic overtone.
R.I.P Brandon Lee (1965-1993)
This Gothic, fantasy action film has a tragic story that's powerful to behold as we witness what the power of revenge can do to a person. However, this isn't your typical revenge plot, because SPOILERS!
Eric Draven, portrayed by the incredible Brandon Lee (son of Bruce Lee), is actual brought back from the dead as an avenging angel, after he and his fiance were murdered by a group of thugs on Devils Night (the night before Halloween).
If you've read the graphic novel you'll know just how great this film is, and the only downside to it is knowing it was Brandon Lee's last after an accident that happened on set.
However, the film sticks close to the source material, especially since James O'Barr, the creator of the characters and the graphic novel worked closely with the cast and crew of the film to ensure it was done correctly.
The tone of the film is, for obvious reasons, dark but there is still humour in it which lightens the mood and gives you a sense of Eric Draven's mind because let's face it, coming back from the dead with the ability to heal any wound, and the opportunity to get revenge on those who wronged you, it's enough to send a sensible man insane, and we see that shine through Brandon Lee performance with jokes and laughter, whilst still remaining eerily dark and twisted. When the bad guys realise he heals any wounds and can't die...You can see how much Eric enjoys seeing the fear grow in their faces, and as the strong unfolds we learn that the group of thugs who committed the crime, were just pawns to a bigger villain leading a crime syndicate in the city.
We see emotion as Eric tries to find out the truth of what really happened that night, and why he and his fiance lost their lives, and we see him trying to connect to his past through Sarah, a young girl that he and his fiance looked after and cared for. We also see the truth unfold through Officer Albrecht who was in charge of the investigation.
The characters are all brilliantly written, from Sarah's childhood innocence becoming a more mature sense of realising that the world can't always be a happy place, to Eric's lust for revenger and being sidetracked by emotions of his former life, trying to remain a good person whilst committing these acts of murder for revenge.
The music in the film really fits the scenes and the feel of the entire story with bands like The Cure, Pantera, Rage Against The Machine and Stone Temple Pilots among others, its soundtrack is brilliantly dark.
Also the main aspect that you have to love is Brandon Lee in the crow makeup and clothing. He looks menacing, he looks like he has a lust for revenge, most importantly he looks badass! One of the greatest comic book characters in film that I have ever seen, and whilst I was a little wary of the talks to remake this film in 2016/2017, I would be curious to see the character brought to life again and given a fresh look but I don't know if anyone can beat Brandon Lee in that portrayal because he looks incredible.
This film is dark, powerful, moving and poetic and will remain one of my top 5 films of all time. Maybe even top 3.
I highly recommend this film to anyone who enjoys a comic book movie, especially if you like movies with action and drama with a Gothic overtone.
R.I.P Brandon Lee (1965-1993)