Rating: C+
I don't understand how other people have given this movie such amorous reviews. Is it simply because it's a Pixar movie? While it was entertaining enough to watch, it's yet another movie that languishes in mediocrity, without taking any risks, or any attempt to follow through what the first part of movie suggests that this movie about. Both the introduction of the movie and the trailers suggest this is a movie about a young girl's quest for independence. Instead, it turns out that this movie is entirely about teaching the values of family and that mom really does have your interest at heart.
It really does seem like Pixar's lost its mojo after being bought by Disney. Even the jokes are losing their bite. The first couple of Pixar movies offered something different, something new; giving you the perspective of the toys as opposed to the kids playing with them. Or the turmoil that a monster needs to go through in order to have their place under your bed / in the closet. Or a different type of an "adventure" through a trip on a bajillion helium balloons. But Brave fails to do anything different. Oh, you'll enjoy it if you like the Pixar / Disney formula, but don't expect anything else.
Aside from a few belly laughs, the movie is awkwardly paced, there doesn't seem to be any breakthrough with the animation technology, nor does there seem to be any real artistic creativity (blogger's note: I really liked the flashback art in KungFu Panda 2). Everything is formulaic. A decent formula, but formulaic nevertheless.
~Cheers.
Showing posts with label Coming of Age. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Coming of Age. Show all posts
Thursday, 5 July 2012
Saturday, 2 June 2012
Movie: Snow White and the Huntsman (2012)
Rating: B-
Visually scintillating, Rupert Sanders directorial debut wasn't bad as far as fairy tales go. With the exception of some pretty odd pacing, and a couple of absolute brain farts, it was actually quite watchable if you're a teenager.
Before I write anything else, I have to mention a couple these brain farts because they were some really obvious and serious gaffes in my book. These two were particularly obvious. Some of the others might simply be me being picky.
- Once upon a time, in a kingdom far far away is no place for the 'Our Father'.
- Just because it's a fairy tale, doesn't mean you can just magically make a horse appear ever so conveniently
While Charlize Theron and Chris Hemsworth played their roles brilliantly, majority of the rest of the roles I felt were entirely miscast. You had wonderfully talented actors playing bit parts as dwarves and bit actors playing significantly larger roles. They could have easily given the opportunity to any number of pretty talented little people for the 7 dwarfs.
I do however, have to give HUGE ups for the movie visually. Absolutely stunning.
~Cheers.
Visually scintillating, Rupert Sanders directorial debut wasn't bad as far as fairy tales go. With the exception of some pretty odd pacing, and a couple of absolute brain farts, it was actually quite watchable if you're a teenager.
Before I write anything else, I have to mention a couple these brain farts because they were some really obvious and serious gaffes in my book. These two were particularly obvious. Some of the others might simply be me being picky.
- Once upon a time, in a kingdom far far away is no place for the 'Our Father'.
- Just because it's a fairy tale, doesn't mean you can just magically make a horse appear ever so conveniently
While Charlize Theron and Chris Hemsworth played their roles brilliantly, majority of the rest of the roles I felt were entirely miscast. You had wonderfully talented actors playing bit parts as dwarves and bit actors playing significantly larger roles. They could have easily given the opportunity to any number of pretty talented little people for the 7 dwarfs.
I do however, have to give HUGE ups for the movie visually. Absolutely stunning.
~Cheers.
Tuesday, 15 May 2012
Movie: Chronicle (2012)
Rating: B
(Blogger's Note: A lot of movies came out during my hiatus from this little blog, but it didn't mean that I didn't watch them. Chronicle is be released today for purchase, so I thought it might be fitting to post a few thoughts to this movie.)
Over the past few years, there have been an inordinate amount of super hero movies. So what happens when you put these powers in the hands of a few teenagers still trying to figure themselves out? And what happens if one of them loses it?
Superman meets Columbine. I think it's an effective look at how different circumstances and different personalities can affect people differently. Especially in those angst ridden teenage years. But they really could have done without so much in-story handycam footage. I can understand that they would want to do that in a few situations, but as far as the entire movie was concerned? It really wasn't necessary and actually detracted from the enjoyment of what was otherwise a very well thought out movie.
What was nice about the way it was filmed tho, was that it did make the story seem more genuine. While the flow was a little slow, it felt like a natural progression to the movie, the friendship, and their burgeoning powers. How it affects them, their friendship, and their outlook of the world; giving the movie real depth and a good look at how perhaps superheroes and their nemeses come to be. That being said, I really could have done without so much of that blasted first person, shaky, handycam footage.
~Cheers.
(Blogger's Note: A lot of movies came out during my hiatus from this little blog, but it didn't mean that I didn't watch them. Chronicle is be released today for purchase, so I thought it might be fitting to post a few thoughts to this movie.)
Over the past few years, there have been an inordinate amount of super hero movies. So what happens when you put these powers in the hands of a few teenagers still trying to figure themselves out? And what happens if one of them loses it?
Superman meets Columbine. I think it's an effective look at how different circumstances and different personalities can affect people differently. Especially in those angst ridden teenage years. But they really could have done without so much in-story handycam footage. I can understand that they would want to do that in a few situations, but as far as the entire movie was concerned? It really wasn't necessary and actually detracted from the enjoyment of what was otherwise a very well thought out movie.
What was nice about the way it was filmed tho, was that it did make the story seem more genuine. While the flow was a little slow, it felt like a natural progression to the movie, the friendship, and their burgeoning powers. How it affects them, their friendship, and their outlook of the world; giving the movie real depth and a good look at how perhaps superheroes and their nemeses come to be. That being said, I really could have done without so much of that blasted first person, shaky, handycam footage.
~Cheers.
Friday, 20 April 2012
Movie: 那些年 - "Those Bygone Years" (2011)
Rating: B-
I've never been to school in Asia, but from what I've heard / seen from friends and the media, 那些年 seems to give a pretty accurate depiction of the student life in Taiwan and I suppose fairly close to the student experience in Chinese Asia in general terms.
(Blogger's note: Sorry. This is the music video of the title song and not the Trailer)
This is a coming of age story of a group of friends going to school in Taiwan. I liked the fact that they didn't try to be cute, and tried to keep the story as realistic as possible; to a point where you could actually see that yeah...kids could quite possibly grow up like that. I also like that they didn't try to put a full cast of great looking kids out there, because let's face it, most people aren't good looking. HAHA. It really just seems like you're taking a glimpse into the lives of a group of very ordinary kids.
A friend of mine said that the depiction of the budding romance was a very accurate comparison to real life, I couldn't help but think back upon my own experiences back in school. Of all the people that I knew (not that I knew few or many), I only knew one person that spent their entire high school life trying to score a date with a girl. So while I understand that the movie was trying to focus on this one core group, the romantic relationship that underlined the group's dynamic seemed a little far fetched.
I don't know a single member of this cast, but the female lead really stood out for me. Watching her grow up and mature in front of the screen was a fantastic feat that left me extremely impressed with her performance. While the other members weren't nearly as noteworthy, I suppose that if we think of our own lives. How many of our lives would make for a good movie?
~Cheers.
I've never been to school in Asia, but from what I've heard / seen from friends and the media, 那些年 seems to give a pretty accurate depiction of the student life in Taiwan and I suppose fairly close to the student experience in Chinese Asia in general terms.
(Blogger's note: Sorry. This is the music video of the title song and not the Trailer)
This is a coming of age story of a group of friends going to school in Taiwan. I liked the fact that they didn't try to be cute, and tried to keep the story as realistic as possible; to a point where you could actually see that yeah...kids could quite possibly grow up like that. I also like that they didn't try to put a full cast of great looking kids out there, because let's face it, most people aren't good looking. HAHA. It really just seems like you're taking a glimpse into the lives of a group of very ordinary kids.
A friend of mine said that the depiction of the budding romance was a very accurate comparison to real life, I couldn't help but think back upon my own experiences back in school. Of all the people that I knew (not that I knew few or many), I only knew one person that spent their entire high school life trying to score a date with a girl. So while I understand that the movie was trying to focus on this one core group, the romantic relationship that underlined the group's dynamic seemed a little far fetched.
I don't know a single member of this cast, but the female lead really stood out for me. Watching her grow up and mature in front of the screen was a fantastic feat that left me extremely impressed with her performance. While the other members weren't nearly as noteworthy, I suppose that if we think of our own lives. How many of our lives would make for a good movie?
~Cheers.
Thursday, 30 June 2011
Movie: I Am Number Four (2011)
Rating: C-
While this movie makes much more sense than DJ Caruso's Eagle Eye, it is simply too lightweight and fluffy to be taken seriously. Of course, this movie is also catering to the Twilight demographic, you know, the demographic that enjoys watching shirtless pretty boys. Thankfully, there were no shirtless scenes. Haha.
I've said it before and I'll say it again. Why the heck does Timothy Olyphant think that grinding his teeth when he talks makes him look tough? And who is this Alex Pettyfer kid and why does he think that he can act? While the first 15 minutes of the movie were decent, and the last 20 minutes of the movie was entertaining enough, there is about an hour and a half or so of this movie that is pure and utter fluff. The entire middle section of the movie was a snoozefest, focusing on teenage puppy love and high school drama that, by the way, disappeared in the blink of an eye.
And I'd say, that without Teresa Palmer, I probably would have given this movie a D. I don't care that she was only in about 15minutes of the movie, but she was hot. Which means, I'm torn about whether or not I want to watch the sequel, which it hints at in the special edition. HAHA.
~Cheers.
While this movie makes much more sense than DJ Caruso's Eagle Eye, it is simply too lightweight and fluffy to be taken seriously. Of course, this movie is also catering to the Twilight demographic, you know, the demographic that enjoys watching shirtless pretty boys. Thankfully, there were no shirtless scenes. Haha.
I've said it before and I'll say it again. Why the heck does Timothy Olyphant think that grinding his teeth when he talks makes him look tough? And who is this Alex Pettyfer kid and why does he think that he can act? While the first 15 minutes of the movie were decent, and the last 20 minutes of the movie was entertaining enough, there is about an hour and a half or so of this movie that is pure and utter fluff. The entire middle section of the movie was a snoozefest, focusing on teenage puppy love and high school drama that, by the way, disappeared in the blink of an eye.
And I'd say, that without Teresa Palmer, I probably would have given this movie a D. I don't care that she was only in about 15minutes of the movie, but she was hot. Which means, I'm torn about whether or not I want to watch the sequel, which it hints at in the special edition. HAHA.
~Cheers.
Sunday, 19 June 2011
Movie: The Tree of Life (2011)
Rating: B-
OK. I get it. The world is like a tree. And like a tree, it grows and spreads, and splits, and blossoms. Our lives too, reflect that. But in all that imagery and symbolism and beauty and awe, there needs to be some sense of cohesion, flow, and continuity. Somewhere. Anywhere.
Terrence Malick starts the movie off with random shots of the past, the present, and the future with some awe inspiring shots of absolute magnificence that is so randomly perplexing that while some might call it cinematic poetry, I can only describe as a convoluted collection of photographic genius that left me to wonder if this was some randomised National Geographic footage. All that was missing was the Alexander Scourby narration (although I guess these days, it would probably be done by Morgan Freeman. Haha).
Aside from the first 40 minutes where Malick tries to randomly select beautifully crafted footage to symbolise the creation of the world, including shots of waterfalls, volcanoes, and I'm sorry...Dinosaurs(?!)...There is a feebly concocted jagged story of a father (played by Brad Pitt) and his family. While some of the arbitrarily selected snippets showed a boy's struggle growing up, it's a pretty weak collection of memories for the boy to grow up to be so morose and tormented. The boy grows up to look remarkably like Sean Penn, which makes no sense because there's really no reason for him to be in the movie. Oh right...so that they could put his name on the poster.
If, somehow, you're able to see past the arbitrary randomness to the symbolic abstractions, this distorted metaphor for "The Tree of Life" is a visually stunning, cinematically perplexing experience.
~Cheers.
Blogger's Note: I loved the way Mike Ward from Richmond.com finished off his review of the movie:
"I admire “The Tree of Life” – in the same way I admire the white-haired lady in the “Guinness Book of World Records” with 28-foot fingernails. By the way, after “The Tree of Life,” you’ll probably have to cut your nails, just saying."
OK. I get it. The world is like a tree. And like a tree, it grows and spreads, and splits, and blossoms. Our lives too, reflect that. But in all that imagery and symbolism and beauty and awe, there needs to be some sense of cohesion, flow, and continuity. Somewhere. Anywhere.
Terrence Malick starts the movie off with random shots of the past, the present, and the future with some awe inspiring shots of absolute magnificence that is so randomly perplexing that while some might call it cinematic poetry, I can only describe as a convoluted collection of photographic genius that left me to wonder if this was some randomised National Geographic footage. All that was missing was the Alexander Scourby narration (although I guess these days, it would probably be done by Morgan Freeman. Haha).
Aside from the first 40 minutes where Malick tries to randomly select beautifully crafted footage to symbolise the creation of the world, including shots of waterfalls, volcanoes, and I'm sorry...Dinosaurs(?!)...There is a feebly concocted jagged story of a father (played by Brad Pitt) and his family. While some of the arbitrarily selected snippets showed a boy's struggle growing up, it's a pretty weak collection of memories for the boy to grow up to be so morose and tormented. The boy grows up to look remarkably like Sean Penn, which makes no sense because there's really no reason for him to be in the movie. Oh right...so that they could put his name on the poster.
If, somehow, you're able to see past the arbitrary randomness to the symbolic abstractions, this distorted metaphor for "The Tree of Life" is a visually stunning, cinematically perplexing experience.
~Cheers.
Blogger's Note: I loved the way Mike Ward from Richmond.com finished off his review of the movie:
"I admire “The Tree of Life” – in the same way I admire the white-haired lady in the “Guinness Book of World Records” with 28-foot fingernails. By the way, after “The Tree of Life,” you’ll probably have to cut your nails, just saying."
Monday, 18 April 2011
Movie: Hanna (2011)
Rating: B-
2011 has been rather slow. I've had to wait until NOW (April 16th) to finally find a movie that's really intrigued me enough to want to watch it. I never thought however, that a young actress that I never heard of...scratch that...a young actress whose name I can't even pronounce....scratch that... well, BOTH statements are correct...I never thought of a young actress whose name I can't pronounce and that I've never heard of would be so charismatic and captivating.
Saorise Ronan, whom apparently was in was in Atonement with Kiera Knightley (among other films), stars in this coming-of-age thriller. An fairly interesting concept that dances around a Grimm theme, the movie moves along at a fairly good clip, but I really wish that they would have found more depth in the characters and the stories. Hanna only grazes the surface of a story that could be so much more, but instead leaves too many loose ends and unanswered questions.
While the performances of Eric Bana and Cate Blanchett give gleaming performances, there's just simply not enough depth in the characters for us to care about either of them. I really think that if Joe Wright would have less attention to spinning cameras and more attention to scratching more than just the surface, this would have been a MUCH better movie.
Despite fight scenes that were too slow for the post-Jason Bourne era; Hanna is fairly delicious from start to finish, but leaves you hungry for more substance.
~Cheers.
2011 has been rather slow. I've had to wait until NOW (April 16th) to finally find a movie that's really intrigued me enough to want to watch it. I never thought however, that a young actress that I never heard of...scratch that...a young actress whose name I can't even pronounce....scratch that... well, BOTH statements are correct...I never thought of a young actress whose name I can't pronounce and that I've never heard of would be so charismatic and captivating.
Saorise Ronan, whom apparently was in was in Atonement with Kiera Knightley (among other films), stars in this coming-of-age thriller. An fairly interesting concept that dances around a Grimm theme, the movie moves along at a fairly good clip, but I really wish that they would have found more depth in the characters and the stories. Hanna only grazes the surface of a story that could be so much more, but instead leaves too many loose ends and unanswered questions.
While the performances of Eric Bana and Cate Blanchett give gleaming performances, there's just simply not enough depth in the characters for us to care about either of them. I really think that if Joe Wright would have less attention to spinning cameras and more attention to scratching more than just the surface, this would have been a MUCH better movie.
Despite fight scenes that were too slow for the post-Jason Bourne era; Hanna is fairly delicious from start to finish, but leaves you hungry for more substance.
~Cheers.
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