Plot Summary:
Eight years after Batman (Christian Bale) took the fall for Harvey Dent's crimes, all is good with Gotham until Bane (Tom Hardy) arrives with a plan to destroy the city. Batman falls out of his self-imposed exile to stop Bane. However, Bane may be a difficult match for Batman.
The Positives:
One would go into this film expecting a film better than The Dark Knight, considered by many (including myself) the best superhero film ever made. It was a tough challenge for Christopher Nolan to top his previous Batman film. What Nolan gives us with this film is a film that ends his trilogy beautifully, ties up every possible loose end in the series, and makes his whole trilogy connect in the end.
As with most of Nolan's films, the casting is really well put together, everyone gives a great performance here. The main show-stealers are Anne Hathaway's Catwoman and Tom Hardy's Bane. Both play their characters exceedingly well and play great villains to Batman here. Bale, Caine, Cotillard, Gordon-Levitt, Oldman, and Freeman all give wonderful performances as well.
I also loved how Nolan connected this story to the real world as much as possible. Bane acting as a terrorist and citizens taking over a city as a result relates very much to the Occupy Wall Street situation and 9/11 terrorism. Nolan's smart script makes sure to have the audience think through these situations as well, making this more than average summer entertainment. Nolan creates tension and well-placed suspense in these scenes and throughout the film as well.
This film also has an emotional edge, which is what Nolan lacks in some of his films. The way the characters interact with each other, and the way they are developed and introduced makes us care for each character, even the villains. The climax of the film made me so uneasy and nervous for Batman the entire time. This is due to how much development Nolan added to Batman's character in this film. As a result of the development, this climax is easily the most memorable action finale this year has to offer.
The Negatives:
None I can think of.
Conclusion:
The Dark Knight Rises should not be compared to The Dark Knight. Nolan accomplished in telling Batman's story in three separate but perfect films. This trilogy will easily go down as one of cinema's finest. Nolan deserves an Oscar nod for this film. This is the best film of the summer and also the best film of 2012 so far. A well-done, smart, heartbreaking, and suspenseful masterpiece that is worth more than one viewing.
Rating: 10 out of 10
Friday, July 20, 2012
Monday, July 9, 2012
Savages Review
Plot Summary:
Ben (Aaron Johnson) and Chon (Taylor Kitsch) are top marijuana growers who share a girlfriend O (Blake Lively) and are very successful in the growing business. One day, they stumble across representatives of Elena Sanchez (Salma Hayek) with a business deal which they refuse. Elena's henchmen Lado (Benicio del Toro) kidnaps O which leads Ben and Chon to fight against Elena to rescue O.
The Positives:
I can easily say that this film is Oliver Stone's weakest. However, there are a few positives to it. As with most of Stone's films, the cinematography and camera work are really impressive. The shots of Laguna and California are visually striking and nice to watch.
I also like that this time Stone attempted to go back to his ultraviolet roots similar to Natural Born Killers. While there are surprisingly not a lot of action scenes in this film, the violence and action scenes are intense and well worth watching.
While this is Stone's weakest acting ensemble, there are a few bright spots. Benicio del Toro steals the show as Lado, he is a disturbed individual who likes to watch people suffer. With del Toro's talent, this is a character who we love to hate. John Travolta is barely in the film, but his scenes are really impressive to watch and his performance here is an enjoyable one.
The Negatives:
There are a lot of problems I had with Savages. For starters, the acting ensemble (with the exception of del Toro and Travolta) is horrendous. Taylor Kitsch is yet another horrible performance as Chon the pot-growing war veteran. With a better actor, this could have been a captivating character. Instead, we get a dull, emotionless, and boring character. Kitsch now has three bad performances in his resume this year, let's face it, the dude is a horrible actor and I hope Hollywood stops giving him roles. Hayek, Lively, and Johnson give awful and boring performances here as well, which is surprising since these are pretty good actors. It's obvious that Stone preferred the visuals over the acting ability for this film.
The story is very boring as well. The trailers made me to believe that this film would be a bloodbath about the war on drugs. Instead, we are treated to a uneven story about the drug business that would have been more interesting with a better script and characters that I could have cared for. This ends up being a lazy script that could have been so much more.
Stone could have also limited to the use of Blake Lively narrating the story. Sure, for the beginning and end, it would have been ok. However, there is narration at completely unnecessary points in the film that would have been explained just fine without narration.
One thing that really made me angry about the film is its ending (Potential Spoilers). The film should have been five minutes shorter. Instead, we are treated to two different endings. I thought the first one ended it perfectly. Stone throws a curveball at the audience and decides to confuse them with a dumber, less effective, and more confusing ending. Why he did this I am not sure, but he turned a mediocre film into a mess because of this decision.
Conclusion:
Savages is easily Oliver Stone's worst film in his filmography. Weak writing, awful performances, and terrible creative decisions ultimately overpower the few decent things that this film offered. This is far from the return to form from Oliver Stone I was expecting. I would skip this film in theaters, but if you are curious enough to see it, I would wait until it is on TV.
Rating: 2.5 out of 10
Ben (Aaron Johnson) and Chon (Taylor Kitsch) are top marijuana growers who share a girlfriend O (Blake Lively) and are very successful in the growing business. One day, they stumble across representatives of Elena Sanchez (Salma Hayek) with a business deal which they refuse. Elena's henchmen Lado (Benicio del Toro) kidnaps O which leads Ben and Chon to fight against Elena to rescue O.
The Positives:
I can easily say that this film is Oliver Stone's weakest. However, there are a few positives to it. As with most of Stone's films, the cinematography and camera work are really impressive. The shots of Laguna and California are visually striking and nice to watch.
I also like that this time Stone attempted to go back to his ultraviolet roots similar to Natural Born Killers. While there are surprisingly not a lot of action scenes in this film, the violence and action scenes are intense and well worth watching.
While this is Stone's weakest acting ensemble, there are a few bright spots. Benicio del Toro steals the show as Lado, he is a disturbed individual who likes to watch people suffer. With del Toro's talent, this is a character who we love to hate. John Travolta is barely in the film, but his scenes are really impressive to watch and his performance here is an enjoyable one.
The Negatives:
There are a lot of problems I had with Savages. For starters, the acting ensemble (with the exception of del Toro and Travolta) is horrendous. Taylor Kitsch is yet another horrible performance as Chon the pot-growing war veteran. With a better actor, this could have been a captivating character. Instead, we get a dull, emotionless, and boring character. Kitsch now has three bad performances in his resume this year, let's face it, the dude is a horrible actor and I hope Hollywood stops giving him roles. Hayek, Lively, and Johnson give awful and boring performances here as well, which is surprising since these are pretty good actors. It's obvious that Stone preferred the visuals over the acting ability for this film.
The story is very boring as well. The trailers made me to believe that this film would be a bloodbath about the war on drugs. Instead, we are treated to a uneven story about the drug business that would have been more interesting with a better script and characters that I could have cared for. This ends up being a lazy script that could have been so much more.
Stone could have also limited to the use of Blake Lively narrating the story. Sure, for the beginning and end, it would have been ok. However, there is narration at completely unnecessary points in the film that would have been explained just fine without narration.
One thing that really made me angry about the film is its ending (Potential Spoilers). The film should have been five minutes shorter. Instead, we are treated to two different endings. I thought the first one ended it perfectly. Stone throws a curveball at the audience and decides to confuse them with a dumber, less effective, and more confusing ending. Why he did this I am not sure, but he turned a mediocre film into a mess because of this decision.
Conclusion:
Savages is easily Oliver Stone's worst film in his filmography. Weak writing, awful performances, and terrible creative decisions ultimately overpower the few decent things that this film offered. This is far from the return to form from Oliver Stone I was expecting. I would skip this film in theaters, but if you are curious enough to see it, I would wait until it is on TV.
Rating: 2.5 out of 10
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Double Review: Ted and The Amazing Spider-Man
Ted
Plot Summary:
As a child, John Bennett (Mark Wahlberg) wished for his teddy bear, Ted (Seth MacFarlane), to come to life. Twenty-seven years later, John and Ted are still the best of friends, and their friendship is threatened by Lori (Mila Kunis), John's girlfriend who wants Ted to move out so John can mature.
The Positives:
Ted is the directorial film debut of Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane. The film was buzzed almost instantly from social networks and websites consistently promoting the film. A lot of people (including myself) worried that the funny parts were spoiled in the trailers and the film would be disappointing as a result. I am here to tell you that this film is far from a disappointment, in fact it's possibly the funniest comedy this year.
One thing they got right is how MacFarlane sets up his cast and crew. He uses a lot of the same crew from Family Guy (his co-writer, score composer, and a lot of the cast). And all works wonderfully here, he creates his own style based on this choosing. The cast is great as well, Mark Wahlberg is hilarious here. He's great in comedic roles and I hope he continues to do these roles. Mila Kunis is fun as well in her role, and MacFarlane steals the show as the titular character, one of the most original and brilliant comedic film characters in a long time.
The humor is spot-on and well-placed throughout the film. MacFarlane uses a lot of crass humor that is set up wonderfully here. He is not afraid to offend anyone here, and the film shows it. The pop culture references in the film also create great humor, by making this a film poking fun at society rather than a parody.
While this is a film with a lot of disgusting and vulgar humor, the film has a heart and a lot of it. The climax here is one of the most unexpectedly touching sequences I have seen this year and my heartstrings were pulled. I cared for the characters throughout the film and this climax proved it for me. MacFarlane has never pulled emotional moments in his shows, but I am happy he did with this film. I hope he continues to do so in the future.
The Negatives:
None I can think of.
Conclusion:
Ted is truly a wonderful film debut from Seth MacFarlane. Its consistently funny humor, great cast and heartwarming and hysterical script make this a comedy of its own. It is easily the best comedy of this year so far and one of the year's best. See it as soon as possible!
Rating: 10 out of 10
The Amazing Spider-Man
Plot Summary:
Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) finds a clue that may help him understand what happened to his parents when he was young. His path to discovery puts him on a collision course with Dr. Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans), his father's former partner who eventually becomes The Lizard. Throughout this journey, Peter becomes Spider-Man.
The Positives:
When I first heard that they were rebooting the Spider-Man series, I wasn't too happy. Sam Raimi's Spider-Man films were great films, and the studio tampered with the third one which resulted in Raimi's end of the series. I was worried that the studio would make an even worse film than Spider-Man 3, since they are responsible for that film being horrible. However, I left the film surprised, this is a pretty good film.
The casting is perfect for this film. Andrew Garfield nails it as Peter Parker, he is an even better and more developed Parker than Tobey Maguire was. The way he handles his emotions and his personality make it seem more natural. Emma Stone was great as Gwen Stacy, she fits the sarcastic female role well and it shows here. Rhys Ifans is also great as Curt Connors, a fun performance that never goes too far.
I really enjoyed the dark tone for this film. The plot, violence, and characters are a lot more realistic, which makes the film very interesting. I also liked how they made Peter's character a little darker too, he's a tough guy who wants to know more about his past.
I also felt that the action scenes and romance were great. Although they aren't a lot of action scenes, they are really well-done and entertaining to watch. The chemistry between Stone and Garfield is really good, it felt very real. I can see why they chose Marc Webb to direct now. When the film isn't a dark action superhero film, it's very much a real romantic comedy and I liked how they handled that aspect.
The Negatives:
While I liked the film, it isn't perfect. For starters, the film felt like more of a remake of Raimi's original film rather than a reboot of the series. The same exact plot points from the original are revisited, just with different characters in a darker, realistic setting. Some moments that were emotional in Raimi's film didn't have the same impact here. I wanted to see a different side to the Spider-Man story, not a dark remake.
I said earlier that I liked Rhys Ifans as Curt Connors. However, The Lizard is truly a weak villain. Instead of being terrifying, he comes off as unintentionally funny. His motives really didn't make a lot of sense and it felt more campy than scary to me. I expected a better job on the villain than what I got here, I hope the next film improves on that flaw.
Conclusion:
I will always hold Sam Raimi's first two Spider-Man films in my heart, but The Amazing Spider-Man is a pretty good remake of Raimi's first film. I would like to see what Marc Webb does with this series, but for now this film is a good start for a hopefully great series.
Rating: 7.5 out of 10
Plot Summary:
As a child, John Bennett (Mark Wahlberg) wished for his teddy bear, Ted (Seth MacFarlane), to come to life. Twenty-seven years later, John and Ted are still the best of friends, and their friendship is threatened by Lori (Mila Kunis), John's girlfriend who wants Ted to move out so John can mature.
The Positives:
Ted is the directorial film debut of Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane. The film was buzzed almost instantly from social networks and websites consistently promoting the film. A lot of people (including myself) worried that the funny parts were spoiled in the trailers and the film would be disappointing as a result. I am here to tell you that this film is far from a disappointment, in fact it's possibly the funniest comedy this year.
One thing they got right is how MacFarlane sets up his cast and crew. He uses a lot of the same crew from Family Guy (his co-writer, score composer, and a lot of the cast). And all works wonderfully here, he creates his own style based on this choosing. The cast is great as well, Mark Wahlberg is hilarious here. He's great in comedic roles and I hope he continues to do these roles. Mila Kunis is fun as well in her role, and MacFarlane steals the show as the titular character, one of the most original and brilliant comedic film characters in a long time.
The humor is spot-on and well-placed throughout the film. MacFarlane uses a lot of crass humor that is set up wonderfully here. He is not afraid to offend anyone here, and the film shows it. The pop culture references in the film also create great humor, by making this a film poking fun at society rather than a parody.
While this is a film with a lot of disgusting and vulgar humor, the film has a heart and a lot of it. The climax here is one of the most unexpectedly touching sequences I have seen this year and my heartstrings were pulled. I cared for the characters throughout the film and this climax proved it for me. MacFarlane has never pulled emotional moments in his shows, but I am happy he did with this film. I hope he continues to do so in the future.
The Negatives:
None I can think of.
Conclusion:
Ted is truly a wonderful film debut from Seth MacFarlane. Its consistently funny humor, great cast and heartwarming and hysterical script make this a comedy of its own. It is easily the best comedy of this year so far and one of the year's best. See it as soon as possible!
Rating: 10 out of 10
The Amazing Spider-Man
Plot Summary:
Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) finds a clue that may help him understand what happened to his parents when he was young. His path to discovery puts him on a collision course with Dr. Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans), his father's former partner who eventually becomes The Lizard. Throughout this journey, Peter becomes Spider-Man.
The Positives:
When I first heard that they were rebooting the Spider-Man series, I wasn't too happy. Sam Raimi's Spider-Man films were great films, and the studio tampered with the third one which resulted in Raimi's end of the series. I was worried that the studio would make an even worse film than Spider-Man 3, since they are responsible for that film being horrible. However, I left the film surprised, this is a pretty good film.
The casting is perfect for this film. Andrew Garfield nails it as Peter Parker, he is an even better and more developed Parker than Tobey Maguire was. The way he handles his emotions and his personality make it seem more natural. Emma Stone was great as Gwen Stacy, she fits the sarcastic female role well and it shows here. Rhys Ifans is also great as Curt Connors, a fun performance that never goes too far.
I really enjoyed the dark tone for this film. The plot, violence, and characters are a lot more realistic, which makes the film very interesting. I also liked how they made Peter's character a little darker too, he's a tough guy who wants to know more about his past.
I also felt that the action scenes and romance were great. Although they aren't a lot of action scenes, they are really well-done and entertaining to watch. The chemistry between Stone and Garfield is really good, it felt very real. I can see why they chose Marc Webb to direct now. When the film isn't a dark action superhero film, it's very much a real romantic comedy and I liked how they handled that aspect.
The Negatives:
While I liked the film, it isn't perfect. For starters, the film felt like more of a remake of Raimi's original film rather than a reboot of the series. The same exact plot points from the original are revisited, just with different characters in a darker, realistic setting. Some moments that were emotional in Raimi's film didn't have the same impact here. I wanted to see a different side to the Spider-Man story, not a dark remake.
I said earlier that I liked Rhys Ifans as Curt Connors. However, The Lizard is truly a weak villain. Instead of being terrifying, he comes off as unintentionally funny. His motives really didn't make a lot of sense and it felt more campy than scary to me. I expected a better job on the villain than what I got here, I hope the next film improves on that flaw.
Conclusion:
I will always hold Sam Raimi's first two Spider-Man films in my heart, but The Amazing Spider-Man is a pretty good remake of Raimi's first film. I would like to see what Marc Webb does with this series, but for now this film is a good start for a hopefully great series.
Rating: 7.5 out of 10
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