Entries tagged with movie review

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movie review

Movie Review: Super 8

The Bad:

I don't ask for a ton of belevability in my science fiction, but I do like consistency, which this lacked at times. Worse, the way several of the plot threads were concluded left me rolling my eyes in exasperation. One was so contrived even I couldn't find a way to believe it, and I certainly wanted to, the other was such a tired sci-fi cliché trope that I couldn't believe two professionals like Abrams and Spielberg considered it for more than a minute, let alone the studio countenancing it.

The Good:

While every word of the above is true, none of it matters. There's a reason that this will be compared to 'Stand By Me' for more than just the age of the actors. What the plot lacked in believability, the characters had in spades. Each of the children are well defined and layered, with one exception their actions are believable. For example, they stay quiet about being at the train crash not because of a warning by a mysterious man (which there was) but because they had to sneak out at night to be there and didn't want to get in trouble. Unfortunately, the few adults in the film are not so well-rounded.

The surprises are genuinely *surprising*. I jumped in my seat on three separate occasions, and that hasn't happened to me at a movie in, literally, years.

Super 8 was touching and fascinating, and well worth the price of admittance. A fun and touching, if not necessarily well-plotted, movie.

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movie review

Movie Review - Thor

Well-- for something to do on a boring afternoon it wasn't bad. It was a completely mediocre movie, rentable enough.

Negatives

The beginning tone struck me as insufferably arrogant and superior. The 18 year old who saw it as well didn't agree, but then 18-year-olds are prone to insufferable arrogance themselves, as a general rule.

Norse mythology wasn't as much borrowed from as name-checked.

Much of the dialog and action was telegraphed far in advance, or was clichéd to the point of obviousness.

Some of the battle scenes were cut too quick and hard to follow. The Frost Giants were pretty cool effects, though.

Thor's friends were nothing more than broad archetypes and woefully under-developed, used only as plot devices rather than even a group of sidekicks. Without more screen time but better writing, they could (and should have) been so much more.

On a personal note- Natalie Portman, despite being an amazing actress, was a poor casting choice. Her eyes, her lips, her voice, all too recognizable, it was distracting. I kept waiting for her to call Thor 'Anakin' or say she was dreaming of dancing the White Swan. But maybe that's just me.

Positives

They did a credible job of making Loki a complicated character, cliché motivations but classic and *there* and consistent. Although on the negative side, they gave him so MANY complications they never really went into any of them with the depth they deserved.

Lots of eye candy. Admittedly, although Thor was pretty buff, Loki was pretty hot as my taste runs, and Thor's lady friend (his posse was so badly developed I can't remember any of their names) wasn't hard on the eyes either. Also see the aforementioned Natalie Portman.

I was honestly surprised at one plot development. Refreshing.

A good explanation for taking Thor's power away, even if he didn't have as many motivations and dimensions as Loki, I give them credit for making us understand that he wasn't perfect, and some character development.

The after-the-credit ending scene. (by now, everyone should know not to leave a Marvel movie until after that final credit roll) It opened up the ability to speculate on possible future developments MUCH better than any prior 'final teaser' scenes.

Spotting a grip in the credits with the first name "Jor-el". Really? What a name to live up to, but how could any DP resist hiring him for a superhero movie?

It reminded me, to be honest, of a middling-quality fanfic. Some overblown prose, some trite dialog, a readable, if predictable plot, some handy motivations for the antagonist.

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movie review

Movie Review - Easy A

If you've seen the previews for Easy A, you know the plot. We are not misled, the story is pretty much as advertised. The thing about Easy A is, it transcends that plot. I don't mean in an intellectual, artistic way but that the movie uses the plot as a framework to hang everything else on, like ornaments on a Christmas tree.

Social commentary, check, but light and smooth and nearly subversive. Slick and watchable, I was drawn along for the ride without speed-bump morality or clunky object lessons. Realistic characters, except the ones so over-the-top cliché there is never a question of the satiric intent. Humor vibrantly colors the movie through sharp, witty reparté, in slyly believable situations as well as through vivid character interaction. While Olive handles herself with humor and self-possession, her teen-age reactions are amusing and recognizable.

You think you know where this movie is going, and for the most part it does, albiet with different scenery than you might expect and down parallel roads. There are one or two surprises and a few things I expected which never materialized, to the credit of the movie.

Easy A is fun without being overly frothy, charming and smart but the most delightful element is the self-aware, share-the-joke-with-me, referential moments. Easy A is an 80's movie wrapped in techno-current life and the best part is, the movie itself not only knows it but uses it and unapologetically revels in it, charming the audience along the way.