Oh, the Tron movie that made my father spend over a hundred dollars on toys in the span of two weeks. I have an intense personal bias towards this film, as I grew up with it and it remains to be one of those movies, I can watch every now and then on the plane or on a long car ride to let my mind wander for a bit. Tron: Legacy is the second installment into the Tron film series. Performing not so well in the box office, this movie was widely considered an acceptable adaptation and once again was considered enough for Sci-Fi/Action fans. As I mentioned, I have a very intense positive biased towards this movie, therefore I do not believe I could review the entire film with an open mind or from a critical standpoint. However, I wanted to review this movie and give it the honor of being my last blog for the 2021-2022 school year because quite frankly I have watched a lot of movies in my newfound free time and this was the only one I did not fast forward or skip scenes, despite having seen it at least twenty times now. While I do not stand on the majority regarding the quality of this movie, I do believe all around it was a well-made film. I will admit the action and effects were a little rough for the time, however, the story had a unique direction given the protagonists' personal development and I will give this movie credit as creating a visual world for a series like this is far more difficult than filming in real life. Since some of the movie was shot in the real world, I noticed this filter they applied to the entire movie which did annoy me slightly as the movie progressed, though I suspect this contrasted with the obvious broad range of colors that are located within the Grid. Further, the Grid was extremely well made, while the effects could have been better, remastering/creating this entire new place for programs, humans, and users to run around is an extremely arduous task and I will give props to the director for keeping continuity throughout the film. Regarding the acting in this film, it was an A-Tier, not near an S-Tier, but not bad enough to be down to a B-Tier, that is right my blog reviews are now turning into miniature tier lists. The protagonists' acting was very well done, additionally, I thought in the beginning this film was going to be one of those Disney+ movies from my childhood that is simply better left untouched. Though it was impressive, and I did not find myself cringing at the acting as hard as I thought I would be. Lastly, I would like to touch on the sound effects in this movie, they are remarkably well done for this deep of a Sci-Fi film, from the discs, bikes, programs, weapons, footsteps, and even subtle details like background noise, soundtrack transitions, etc. were all very well incorporated and fit the theme of the film down to a T. Overall, I believe this movie stands in a similar sense to my recent review of The Game Plan, while it may have not done the best in the box office, or been the best received from critics, it still remains as a film I would watch occasionally and feel immersed into this vast fictional world. While it is sad this is my last blog of the year, looking back on my previous posts, I can see the development of my reviews, critiques, and overall observations of films. Wholeheartedly, I really enjoyed taking this class, it has taught me a lot about an often-overlooked aspect of life, and I personally appreciate all your hard work and effort put forth towards the first larger film class in recent years, so from the bottom of my heart, thank you.
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To be honest, when I first got recommended this movie by my uncle who is a huge Ryan Reynolds fan, I was skeptical as if it would live up to his hype. Now, to give a little background on my uncle, he could sell ice cubes to Eskimos with his negotiation skills, and by the end of my short trip to Florida, I was finally convinced to download this movie for the late plane ride home. Red Notice primarily serves as a mystery and detective movie, I personally hold a very intense bias towards these movies, as they either perform excellently, or fail to meet my grand expectations. However, I am happy to say that this movie, regardless of just hiring a bunch of famous actors, had a remarkable story, exemplary twists, and stayed comical with Ryan Reynolds while being serious with Dwayne and Ms. Gadot. To me, this fit their real-life personality perfectly, as no character felt forced into their role and each of them really felt genuine in their moral or immoral actions. I do not want to talk about each event of the movie as I do not want to be the one to give away the amazing twist(s) throughout the film, but take my word for it, they are flawless and even being a critic of these types of movies, I did not see it coming. I did not have strife with any aspect of this movie, I was thinking in the beginning that Ryan Reynolds might get on my nerves very quickly by just overusing comical relief, however, his jokes and actions made sense, everything about his character, who was the main protagonist for most of the film, as I mentioned felt genuine. I wanted to touch on the acting in this movie as well, the acting is S-Tier, and I will stand by that statement all day. Every actor did an amazing job at playing into this almost Sherlock Holmes type intelligence and plot. It is always nice to see someone in these films who possess supreme intellect or has far beyond experience in their trade. While it is not necessarily realistic in some respects, it is essential for these types of movies, but that is a whole different argument for another day. Lastly, I want to talk about the action without giving anything away at all, as I mentioned I do not want to discuss any part of this film because diving into this movie headfirst with a snack is the best way to do it. Elaborating, the action in this film was well done, I do not believe it is top tier action, but then again that is not what this movie should be focused on. The chase scenes were giving me Uncharted vibes in that the protagonists have plot armor no matter their circumstance, however, when I looked back at my favorite scenes after I watched the movie, to be honest I was too critical as it balanced the detective style theme, while giving a realistic feel to the action. Overall, I highly recommend this movie to anyone, regardless of your preferred movie genre, I believe you will enjoy some aspects of Red Notice. I give this movie a solid 9.5/10, excellent movie that utilized famous actors in an uncommon genre.
While this movie was a little unorthodox and unplanned on my part, I enjoyed it and was highly encouraged by my friends to watch it once they learned I had not seen it. There really is no background to why I chose this movie, the explanation is simple. I was going to embark on a three-hour flight out of Orlando, the capital of screaming kids, and needed a lot of movies to watch or take my attention away from them kicking the back of my seat. On Disney+ I hit the randomize button based on my recommendations and this movie happened to pop up. I then asked our film group chat if the movie was worth watching or entertaining. After hours of asking in all caps why I had not seen this classic film, I downloaded it and prepared to see The Rock's sweaty muscles at least ten times. The Game Plan follows a classic selfish and self-centered sports star who just cannot seem to win the championship or an important game. Similarly, it adopted the fake futuristic 2007 technology to try to entice the viewer with "ooohs" and "aaaahs" at all the moving curtains and Alexa's grandmothers. Regardless, I enjoyed the central message of the film regarding valuing family over one's fortune. While I will not dive too deep into specific scenes or notions since the film is simple and is not part of a complex universe with multiple reappearing background characters. I will just discuss my basic opinions on what the directors tried to achieve versus what was produced. Overall, the directors did an excellent job at following this storyline with funny, witty, or dumb characters that supported the protagonist. Usually, a common theme within these types of films is the constant use of funny dialogue that does not relate to characters but exists solely to make the viewer chuckle, so they do not fall asleep. Though I do wholeheartedly believe while this film obviously utilizes the cuteness of the little girl, it was not done too much, and did not feel forced in any way. My only main conflict with this film was the overacting done by the protagonists' agent. I have not dived into her acting career or her future films, considering the release date of this movie. In many scenes, she just did not fit in, I understand that is hard to digest as it really has no essence to the argument, but my advice would be to watch the movie and pay attention to her character. Relating back to my original claim, I do believe the directors did a stellar job at accurately representing a selfish person's moral journey. The development of the protagonist did not feel rushed in any aspect, and within the first five minutes I was fearing this would be a problem. However, I was pleasantly surprised when certain major incidents changed his perspective, as even relating this to real world examples, this is the only method that turns one's moral compass completely around is situations in which fear, or worry is present for another individual. I highly doubt they went that far into the psychological perspective of having a buff, athlete main character. Lastly, my second and subtle conflict with this film was the constant shots of The Rock's muscles. I know this has/ always will be a theme in his films, because guys I do not know if you know, but The Rock is buff and, in this film,... do you see him? Oh, you did not? Here we can show him again if you want... Oh you do not? Well too bad because he insisted on getting his afternoon workout during our session and we were not about to say no to him. Anyway, I do like The Rock's movies, even now he is a decent actor and can be funny if surrounded by the right crowd, I just like to make fun of him sometimes. In conclusion, I am going to give this movie a solid 8/10, very typical directing style for the era and utilization of "futuristic" technology, but it remains as a movie I would gladly watch occasionally and be happy when the credits roll.
From the famous director known for his work in Back to the Future and Jurassic Park comes the favorite child of mashing a lot of Sci-Fi/Adventure movies together. May I present Ready Player One, a well-rounded movie overall, with a solid plot, interesting characters, and littered with past references that made my dad pause the movie and explain the significance of every object. I personally loved this movie, now I know some people did not like it because it just contained too many 80s and 90s references for them, and I can perfectly understand that. Though I obviously did not get all of them, therefore I cannot speak too much in that aspect, but I did notice some of them as my dad tried to raise me by watching all the classic movies when I was of age. In addition, it was a remarkable success for younger and older audiences alike due to the witty jokes and cool effects, while provoking some degree of nostalgia from its older audience to keep them entertained. First, let me speak on the effects of this movie, they are just glorious. Glorious is really the perfect word as most of the time, characters are animated like Avatar in a way, and the motion capture really impressed me. From the facial expressions to the fighting, to the racing, to the competitions, and just the general atmosphere in the OASIS really makes you immersed in it, to the point of feeling like you are a part of the OASIS when the characters embark on each of their activities. Moving to the characters, I really enjoyed every individual's emotional development, it really provided each of them with a certain purpose and it did not just feel like Spielberg threw them in there to fill time. In contrast, I did think some of the characters were a little cheesy or rushed along. Take for example Daito, he is a very laid-back kid, nerdy kid in the beginning, but after not seeing him for a while, he turns out to be the savior and best warrior amongst the group. However, out of all the characters, good and bad, this was my only minor complaint. Lastly, I always pay attention to how the directors treat the hero's journey story in their movies. Spielberg always draws out the mentor aspect of his movies. While the original Back to the Future flips this notion on its head, I knew before even watching the film that the mentor of the main character was going to either die early on thus forcing the protagonist to move forward and inevitably make mistakes, or have the mentor slowly develop into a different relationship to the main character. As shown in this movie, Samantha begins as an idol for Wade, but ends up being his girlfriend after a lot of life advice, questions, soul-searching, etc. While this is not by any means a terrible thing, and I quite enjoyed Samantha's character, I just leaned to my dad in the middle of the film and mentioned how within the first five minutes of truly meeting her, I knew she was eventually going to be the love interest. Overall, I very much enjoyed watching this movie with my dad on a Friday night, I believe if you watch it with a parent or someone who will understand all the references, it will be a nicer experience, but if not then I guarantee you will enjoy all the little bits of nostalgia sprinkled throughout the movie. I give this movie a solid 9/10, great cast, exceptional story, extraordinary characters, amazing CGI, and another impressive addition to Spielberg's laundry list of exemplar films.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife, the ghostbuster movie that completely relied on nostalgia and past great acting to even make it decent in the box office. As you can tell, I did not enjoy this movie at all. I watched it late at night with my grandmother and my father on a whim as none of us had seen it yet, since it came out a long time ago, we just heard negative reviews and never were interested. As far as the actors went, I did like Paul Rudd taking on the major comedic role as he played it excellently, and of course I must mention the original ghostbusters as the only moment I loved in the film was when they were on screen, and I had chills when the climax occurred with all the legends shooting their proton packs towards Gozer. I also see how this can be received as this movie was truly a dedication to Harold Ramis, and while I immensely respect the director for his nomination and nods to the previous installments, it was too much for a whole new film and here is why. Ghostbusters: Afterlife did not keep me involved in the plot at all, its quality overall suffered immensely when new plot points or developments would just be introduced at random intervals without warning and without context. In a few cases as well it relied on the viewer to have known about the Ghostbusters universe which I do not agree with as if you are making another installment extremely late into the franchise, your movie should be able to tell a summary of the previous movies to get your audience roped in. Though by just showing clips from the movie or spouting movie exposition so fast you can barely comprehend who what when where and why, it gets incredibly old and annoying. In addition to the choppy and odd plot, the characters were sub-par at best. I sympathize with the little girl wanting to follow her grandfather's footsteps upon learning about his true life, but she just puts everything together with ease and she is not even a teenager. When Egon as the lamp pointed to his seven or so degrees on the wall that just further proved my point, as if Egon were not able to finish/fix the proton pack while he was alive, how can a little girl who likes science finish it with just a lamp pointing to stuff. That threw me for a loop, also that the proton packs have major kickback, in the past movies they treat the recoil like a 50cal rifle, so why is this little girl able to just shoot from a standing position or go on a joyride and just spray n' pray without too many repercussions. My last major rant I promise is the obvious Mary Sue/Gary Stu type heroes journey this whole group goes on. I mean I was not expecting a lot from this movie after hearing the reviews, but I mean c'mon two Junior High kids and two lovesick tweens take on this primitive god-like being, even with the help of the original ghostbusters this should not have been a fair fight and there is a colossal number of moments where Gozer could have just killed them before they could even react. In my original argument, I stated that this movie relied too heavily on its predecessors, and I will debate that notion with anyone willing. This movie really did not feel like a film, more so a short film with too much reliance on previous plot developments. Putting aside my overwhelming anger for this movie, I am going to rate it a 2.5/10. I wholeheartedly did not enjoy any aspect of this film and the only brownie points it gets are for the scenes with the classic ghostbusters.
Ah Doctor Strange, one of my top-rated marvel movies of all time and it has a nice message about change for younger audiences who do not mind potentially scaring sci-fi violence and themes. Nevertheless, Doctor Strange takes my number four spot as best all-time for the following reasons. First, looking at the choreographed fighting of this movie is slightly under Shang-Chi. The unique way Benedict Cumberbatch and Tilda Swinton flow with the magic effects is just marvelous. Take the first fight scene between Doctor Strange and Baron, the use of the magic relicts combined with their apparent knowledge of Jiu jitsu, just flows so well. The fighting does not seem cut or rushed but practiced and every blow is felt by the actors. Second, the effects in this movie. Holy moly I have watched this movie multiple times since I first saw it in theaters to look at the effects alone. Apart from Endgame and Infinity War with Thanos' gauntlet, Doctor Strange's effects and CGI are unapparelled. The mirror dimension, Dormammu's dimension, astral projection, the Sanctuaries, the use of the time stone, the artifacts being used in fighting, the weapons warriors summon, it all just looks fantastic and truly fits the magical world theme the directors sought to illustrate. Third, looking at the acting in this movie, I will just say it straight out of the gate, it is phenomenal. Not once did one line was delivered in an odd manner or that an actor seemed out of place. Every character had such a unique role, and none were discarded or forgotten without purpose. I also adore Doctor Strange's story in that one man can come so far in his own morality and self-discovery. I know its fiction, but it humbled me at the end when he glanced at his broken watch and Cumberbatch just melted into this perfect expression of determination through heartbreak. Lastly, I believe Doctor Strange combined the genres of Sci-Fi, Comedy, and Drama perfectly. Take the beginning scene for example, even though he is a grouch and stuck up, the viewer cannot help but sympathize with him as he tries to gain back what he lost in the accident. While comedy is perfectly executed throughout the film, I believe the comedic responses do not feel forced by Cumberbatch, but they complement his character and even serve as a character development tool. Finally, the drama or climax of this film I believe was magnificently done. As I was watching the film for the first time, I kept saying in my head how I really hope they do not have some random actor or character come back and turn the tide because they truly were screwed for a second. However, instead of taking this approach, strange used his limited knowledge of magic and ended up winning, but not just on a whim. Primary point being the ending did not feel as if Strange just got lucky and was granted the infinity stone because the comics said so. Overall, I obviously really enjoyed this movie, I will stand behind all aspects I praise any day, one I did not mention, but would be easier to explain in person is the excellent use of audio. Though I would give this movie a solid 9.5/10 and it is well deserving of my number four spot of best marvel movies of all time.
I was reluctant at first to go see this movie with my dad over the weekend while my grandma was visiting as we'd watched around three films at the time and usually I only watch one every week to make a blog. In addition, when I saw the movie was nearly three hours long and I was still sick, I didn't have the best attitude going into this film, however, I was tremendously impressed by the end of the show and behind the Dark Knight series, I believe this is a great installment into the batman franchise. We had tried to get tickets earlier to avoid spoilers, but we somehow managed to avoid all major plot points and had no idea what to expect. I won't say I've been a dedicated Batman fan all my life or even that he was my favorite superhero of the D.C universe, but I certainly respected him and enjoyed the Dark Knight series as it did an excellent job exploring why or how Bruce Wayne turned into what he did. The one sort of spoiler I did see is this movie was taking an entirely different path from the previous films and after watching it, I admired the director for taking this path. The movie as a whole had a deeper, darker, more sinister tone than any other movie. Mr. Reeves took a unique path utilizing every angle, every object, every character to build this infamous city and truly immerse the viewer as if they were living in it. Gotham felt real, watching it in the theater added to this element as well, as every punch felt like it connected with such vigorous force and every bullet was fired realistically, not just for show. Looking at the characters, I found the Penguin to be the most intriguing as I'm familiar with the general premise of the Falcone gang, Catwoman's father, and other plot lines, however, what I didn't expect was the use of The Riddler. I must admit I am kind of biased to this movie as I've always found The Riddler to be a very underrated villain in the D.C universe and I adored that he finally got a spotlight and his role was performed tremendously. The climax of the film had me on the edge of my seat and for the first time in a while I was genuinely intrigued and invested in the movie I was watching. The Batman did an excellent job as well in getting the audience involved, as when the movie came to a close, instead of a teaser trailer, they hid an easter egg related to the movie which I thought was genius and an amazing newfound idea that should be implemented in other films in some aspect. Overall, I loved this movie, I loved that The Riddler finally got his spotlight. Mr. Reeves really seemed to care about the direction, the tone, the background, hidden details, in a sense cared deeply about this movie and you can truly see the passion he invested into it. Rating wise, I give this movie a 9/10, the only reason it's not .5 higher is primarily due to the constant use of some music, I believe in this aspect they could've just let the scene breathe instead of using some type of violin in the background. Though this is a minor issue, I would certainly recommend this movie to anyone who is a fan of the D.C universe and doesn't mind exploring the true violent and ominous nature of Gotham.
In the spirit of a murder mystery themed spring in our English IV class, I decided to watch Knives Out with my grandmother while she was in town for the weekend. She loves murder mysteries and was ecstatic to hear about our involvement in Death On The Nile, as Agatha Christie is one of her favorite all time novelists. Further, I recently heard great reviews about this movie from our film class, but I've been lucky enough to avoid spoilers thus far and decided it would be a fantastic journey to embark on. Obviously this review is going to have massive spoilers for the movie, so if you have not watched it yet, I suggest doing so as I don't want to be that guy who ruins the main plot of the movie for you. My first impression of Knives Out was mixture of The Great Gatsby type wealth with a modern take on a classic genre. Meaning, from the house, to the clothes, to the accents, it all seemed like the directors were going for an old school type of feel to this movie, and I really enjoyed that as opposed to the house or family being say modern. I thought it added to the eerie type of atmosphere as well, as the house was so large and intricate, that there was never a dull moment in thinking of where the killer could've entered or exited. To my mentioned point about the film being a modern take, I believe the directors did an excellent job at making this story involve modern technology, but also keep the classic older-style feel, similar to the houses' aesthetic. For instance, when Marta was ready to dial 911, she did so on a telephone, but also carried her cellphone with her. In a similar sense, Jacob was the embodiment of our generation's egotistic personality, but was never shown or mentioned too much in the film, as to keep with the theme. Moving to the storyline, I found it extremely intriguing and while it took around twenty minutes to truly begin, I didn't hold it against the directors to take that time to introduce characters, give background, and possible motives etc. after all the viewer can't be invested in the story if they don't feel involved in the intricate plot lines. Similarly, I was shocked when Blanc revealed who the killer actually was, as I originally wrote off Ransom thinking he was too obvious, but it was one "oooooh" and "aaaaaah" after the next when Blanc was just piecing together every bit of the story with great ferocity. While he wasn't my favorite James Bond, I believe did an excellent job at playing this guarded, confident, and comical detective, he really tied the whole movie together in the end, and without his performance, I don't believe I would have given this movie such a high rating. The only small conflict I had with this film, was when Ransom reached for the knife to kill Marta, and out of all knives he could've possibly grabbed, it had to be the dummy one. While I thought this was a great ending, I just wish more emphasis could've been brought as to why this knife was there, or perhaps point out that half the circle of knives are fake or some intriguing fact such as this. However, that doesn't stop me from giving this movie a 9/10, the acting, the theme, the motifs, the ending, the characters, the explanation, the action, it all came together to form an excellent modern take on a classic and well-loved genre of film.
Murder Mystery starring Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston is a classic take on the old-fashioned murder mystery genre. The movie itself I believe follows the classic storyline of any mystery, however, it provides a modern twist, while also providing bits of comedy relief. The basic plot of this story revolves around Adam Sandler playing a broke police officer who tells his wife he qualified for a detective position. After his wife claims they never do anything fun, he panics and claims he booked a flight to Europe for their anniversary, though they have no way to pay for it without falling further into debt. While on the plane, Jennifer Aniston accidentally roams into first class and meets an eccentric billionaire who invites them to his yacht for a week-long vacation. Once they arrive, the viewer is introduced to all possible suspects and once his father walks to the podium to announce his inheritance, he is shot and is unable to finish his speech. Assuming Adam Sandler is a cop, all family members turn to him for answers and the investigation begins to unfold. While this movie was met with lackluster reviews from the audience and critics alike, I thought it was intriguing. The top reviews reflected a similar take on my opinion, I believe the story was an involved and well thought out sequence of events. Though I had a problem with all actors overplaying their role to the point where it doesn't seem natural. Elaborating, it takes a great amount of skill and dedication to be truly invested in a fictional character, a prime example being the actors of Breaking Bad. I do believe Adam Sandler is a great actor and has made some great movies in the past, though in this movie both actors seemed very forced and uncomfortable in their role. I also did some brief research into the directing of the film, and I confirmed my theory that production was very rushed, so much so that the movie was almost dropped entirely. This especially shows in the climax of the film, as when the killer is revealed, a well-directed chase ensues, but the denouement of the movie is unnaturally short. The happily ever after is explained in less than five minutes, and all those who lost their loved ones to the serial killer are just immediately cheered up after half the town spirals into chaos as the killer flees mercilessly through crowded streets. Switching subjects, I'd like to start giving movies a rating on a scale of one to ten, by doing this I feel it could best illustrate my opinion. Overall, I'd give this movie a five out of ten, the only reason I give it such a high rating is solely due to the intriguing story and characters. I wouldn't watch this movie again on my own free will, but if someone forced me to, I'd just be fine with it I suppose.
Return of The King, in my eyes, a cinematic masterpiece and one that should be considered canon amongst the film community. brings the Lord of The Rings trilogy to a satisfying end as the audience observes its favorite heroes complete their mission and save all races in Mordor. I originally binged watch this film right after finishing the previous installment out of suspense and excitement, and I had a whole day to myself. I had heard from my other friends who watched this trilogy that this movie had its ups and downs. Additionally, some had mixed reviews, but I didn't listen to most of them as they all thought the first Suicide Squad was a good movie. This movie featured what I consider to be the best buildup to a battle scene and victory I've ever seen in a film. I recognize other movies don't exactly have eight hours to buildup this tense conflict and deliver a battle scene within the same movie, however, The Return of The King justified all this adventuring, walking, killing, strife, and conflict by wrapping up this series with an amazingly choreographed, directed, and chilling battle that in a sense utilizes all the mentioned past internal conflicts, hate, etc. to give the scene and characters a real sense of depth and emotion. Beyond the battle scene, I've enjoyed Peter Jackson's approach to creating scenes an overwhelming majority of the time, as I mentioned in the previous blog as well that he uses a variety of film techniques to give the movie a unique art style while not inserting too many fancy cuts, lights, etc. Further, when I heard that Peter Jackson ordered only those who've read the novels are to be on the front lines of the initial charge, it gives a brief insight into how much passion he put behind these films. Personally I have not read the novels so I can't attest to how accurate of a portrayal it is, however, the movies got me interested to read the books. Similar to Harry Potter, I understand some people have issues with the movies not being exactly like the books or this detail was off, etc. Though I'd consider the movie to be a success if you captivate an entirely new audience to read the novels and explore this universe Tolkien created. Switching topics, my only real major issue with this movie was the recruitment of the dead army, don't get me wrong it was amazing to watch and satisfying to see the tormented souls finally achieve peace in the end. Though it seemed very convenient and obviously the heroes wouldn't have emerged victorious without them, I just would've enjoyed it if say during The Two Towers, this legend of a dead army residing within a lost cave was mentioned so it doesn't seem like a major plot armor device for the protagonists. Overall I believe this film to be one of my top ten favorite movies of all time, and those who are a fan of adventure/fiction need to watch this series. I recommend watching the extended edition(s) as well, as it just adds to all the adventure and depth. Overall, fantastic movie, and I'm looking forward to reviewing The Hobbit trilogy next.
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