The Official Review Thread of 2019

Sabin
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2019

Post by Sabin »

What a summer of flops this is turning into! One after another.

Men in Black International, Dark Phoenix, Shaft, Pokemon Detective Pikachu. The Secret Life of Pets 2 and Godzilla King of Monsters will break even after international. And of course, Booksmart failed to replicate Superbad's success. We're only a month and a half into summer and yet, like election season, it feels like we've never left. I'm a bit alarmed that we're heading towards a world where audiences only see ten films a year, all Disney tentpoles. But part of me looks at these titles listed above (minus Booksmart) and wonders: well, what fools did you take the audience for?

Yes, "sequels are dead" will be the spin for the five days leading up to Toy Story 4.
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2019

Post by anonymous1980 »

MEN IN BLACK: INTERNATIONAL
Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson, Liam Neeson, Kumail Nanjiani, Emma Thompson, Rebecca Ferguson, Rafe Spall, Laurent & Larry Bourgeois.
Dir: F. Gary Gray.

The fourth iteration of the Men in Black franchise has a young woman actually finding the organization and teaming up with another agent to save the world. I don't understand it. This has all the elements of what it takes to make at least a fairly decent escapist genre blockbuster: It has a good cast. Chris Hemsworth and another one of my future wives (heh) Tessa Thompson (my only reason for checking this out) make a good team. Kumail Nanjiani is charming as a tiny bad-ass alien. There's a lot of individual fun elements to it and there are scenes that are fun. But nothing was coming together. None of it clicked. Is it the script? Is it direction? Maybe a little bit of both. But yeah, this is subpar.

Oscar Prospects: None.

Grade: C.
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2019

Post by anonymous1980 »

TEEN SPIRIT
Cast: Elle Fanning, Zlatko Buric, Rebecca Hall, Agnieszka Grochowska.
Dir: Max Minghella.

A teenaged girl from a small town in Europe gets the chance to audition for an American Idol/X-Factor-type show, the titular Teen Spirit. A former Russian opera singer who was once famous and now lives in obscurity, takes her under his wing. Yes, the plot is just like A Star is Born minus the romance. This is the feature film debut of Max Minghella and he acquits himself very well. Elle Fanning is, as if we needed more convincing, outstanding (she even sings). You really root for her and everything. The script drops the ball a bit on the central relationship between her and her mentor. You really don't get much of a sense of it. It lacks something. That said, it's still a solid musical drama that's far better than it has any right to being.

Oscar Prospects: Elle Fanning won't actually be an embarrassing Best Actress contender for this.

Grade: B.
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2019

Post by anonymous1980 »

X-MEN: DARK PHOENIX
Cast: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Sophie Turner, Jessica Chastain, Tye Sheridan, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Alexandra Shipp, Evan Peters.
Dir: Simon Kinberg.

During a space rescue mission, Jean Grey is hit with a strange-looking solar flare causing her to transform into the titular Dark Phoenix which increases her power and makes her more and more dangerous. This is an intriguing premise filled with potential. I heard from some people that this was a cool story in the comics. But writer-director Simon Kinberg does absolutely nothing with it. Zip. Nada. Pffffttt. Nothing super interesting at least. It such a waste. A lot of interesting ideas get brought up and pretty much get wasted. Also wasted are the super talented cast, some of whom seem to be phoning it in (I'm looking at you, Fassbender and J-Law). Sophie Turner is terrific though. Such a shame they didn't give her some potentially great material to work with. So, yeah, pass on this.

Oscar Prospects: None.

Grade: C-
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2019

Post by Franz Ferdinand »

anonymous1980 wrote:BRIGHTBURN
It didn't blow me away but I am curious to see if/when they make this is into a film series/franchise.
The budget was low, but so was the box office and opinion. After a dismal C+ Cinemascore and a catastrophic 69% second week drop-off, I wouldn't hold my breath waiting a follow-up.
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2019

Post by anonymous1980 »

ALADDIN
Cast: Will Smith, Mena Massoud, Naomi Scott, Marwan Kenzari, Navid Negahban, Nasim Pedrad, Billy Magnussen.
Dir: Guy Ritchie.

This is the unnecessary remake of a childhood favorite Disney animated feature film version of the Aladdin story. We all know it: Young man finds a magic lamp and the lamp has a genie, he wants to win over the Sultan's daughter, etc. I was bracing for the worst. I don't like the fact that Disney is remaking its classics and I'm not a big fan of director Guy Ritchie. I suppose low expectations made me enjoy this film a bit more than I expected to but it's overall surprisingly somewhat enjoyable. Will Smith's version of the genie is no Robin Williams, although he seems to try and channel him every now and then. He does also manage to sneak in some funny one-liners too. And this movie needs it since I found the leads to be kind of dull (In their small bits, both Nasim Pedrad and Billy Magnussen manage to shine as well). Overall, it's not great but it could've been a lot worse, I guess.

Oscar Prospects: Costume Design, Production Design, Visual Effects and Original Song ("Speechless") are possible.

Grade: C+
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2019

Post by anonymous1980 »

BRIGHTBURN
Cast: Elizabeth Banks, David Denman, Jackson A. Dunn, Matt Jones, Meredith Hagner, Michael Rooker.
Dir: David Yarovesky.

A spaceship containing a baby crash-lands on a childless couple's farm. They adopt him and raise him as his own. But he has superpowers. Sounds familiar? That's because it's the Superman origin story.....but this Superman turns out to be an invasive alien hellbent on death and destruction. It's a concept so obvious and novel, it's strange that no one got the idea to make a movie about it until now. The film disappointingly takes the slasher film route instead of doing something a little more creative with it. But for what it is, it is an entertaining superhero horror film with a few decent scares. It didn't blow me away but I am curious to see if/when they make this is into a film series/franchise.

Oscar Prospects: None.

Grade: B.
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2019

Post by anonymous1980 »

GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS
Cast: Kyle Chandler, Vera Farmiga, Millie Bobby Brown, Ken Watanabe, Bradley Whitford, Charles Dance, Sally Hawkins, O'Shea Jackson Jr., Thomas Middleditch, Ziyi Zhang, Aisha Hinds, David Strathairn, Anthony Ramos.
Dir: Michael Dougherty.

The sequel to the Hollywood reboot of Godzilla centers on an eco-terrorist group wanting the revive all the Titans (Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra, King Ghidorah) in an effort to save the planet from destruction. And there's a family coping with the loss of one of their own in the mix. It's very clear this movie wants to be a fun, silly escapist film where big monsters fight, in the tradition of the old Japanese monster movies. But it also wants to have a human story at its heart and say something about the world around us. It fumbled in the latter and affected my enjoyment of the former. Only Millie Bobby Brown manages to rise above the mediocre material given, proving that her Eleven performance wasn't a fluke. The monster fighting sequences especially the ones in the end were a lot of fun. But overall, it's just pretty okay.

Oscar Prospects: Visual Effects is possible.

Grade: B-
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2019

Post by Sabin »

Booksmart isn't going to be the Superbad hit everybody thought it would be and I certainly understand why. While Superbad plays by the audience-friendly Apatow handbook Booksmart RESISTS -- pun intended.

Make no mistake. This is a straight (if not entirely straight) remake of Superbad, right down to casting Jonah Hill's younger sister as "him." To which I say "So what?" If you're going to remake Superbad, the question becomes can you bring anything fresh and new? And the answer here is a resounding yes. Whereas Seth and Evan are single-minded horndogs, Amy and Molly are social justice-minded feminists. The film is at its strongest when Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever (the latter of whom is just excellent) are bouncing off of each other and we learn little details about them, like when one desperately need the others' helming no questions asked they call "Malala." The film is at its weakest when it comes to emotional stakes. Seth and Evan are looking for sex but find love -- with each other. The closest moment that that for Amy and Molly happens at the end of the first act, when they realize they've wasted their high school years focusing ONLY on getting into a great school and not having a life, when all of their classmates (who they perceived as losers) did both. That scene is fantastic but nothing afterwards really cuts as deep, so their quest to go to Nick's party feels a little shambling, vignette-ish, and low-stakes. It doesn't help that while Olivia Wilde is very good with actors, she tends to over-direct her scenes and bludgeon with her soundtrack.

I liked it but wish it cut loose more.
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2019

Post by anonymous1980 »

JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 3 - PARABELLUM
Cast: Keanu Reeves, Halle Berry, Ian McShane, Laurence Fishburne, Asia Kate Dillon, Lance Reddick, Mark Dacascos, Anjelica Huston.
Dir: Chad Strahelski.

The third chapter (and looks like it might not even be the final) in the on-going John Wick series has the titular John Wick going against the entire mysterious assassin organization he was once a part in. I'm not as obsessed with this franchise as a lot of other people but I do very much enjoy it and this latest chapter is the reason why. The violence is highly stylized but you still feel the pain. The action scenes are cartoonish yet never shies away from the brutality. It goes from one imaginative action sequence to another yet there's a logic to it. It is played straight yet they manage to sprinkle some humor pointing out its silliness. It is truly a minor miracle this series is as good as it is. I can't imagine where they will take this franchise next.

Oscar Prospects: Sound Editing and Sound Mixing are deserved.

Grade: B+
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2019

Post by anonymous1980 »

LONG SHOT
Cast: Charlize Theron, Seth Rogen, O'Shea Jackson Jr., Andy Serkis, June Diane Raphael, Bob Oedenkirk, Alexander Skarsgård, Ravi Patel.
Dir: Jonathan Levine.

A recently out of work online journalist meets up with his former babysitter who happens to be the Secretary of State planning to run for president. Of course the unlikely pair fall in love. As with a lot of Seth Rogen's comedies, this one is still around 20 to 40 minutes too long. But on the other hand, like a lot of Seth Rogen's comedies, it somehow works and is pretty good. Call me crazy but, the romance between chlubby Seth Rogen and beautifully statuesque Charlize Theron surprisingly believable. I have to also say Charlize is also great at comedy. That scene where she negotiates the release of a hostage while on molly was gold. She should definitely do more comedies. Overall, solid work.

Oscar Prospects: None but Charlize Theron definitely deserves a Golden Globe Musical-Comedy nomination.

Grade: B.
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2019

Post by anonymous1980 »

POKEMON DETECTIVE PIKACHU
Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Justice Smith, Kathryn Newton, Bill Nighy, Ken Watanabe, Suki Waterhouse, Omar Chapparo, Chris Geere, Rita Ora.
Dir: Rob Letterman.

In a world where Pokemon and humans living side-by-side is a thing, a young man finds out his police officer father was killed but after finding his father's Pokemon, Pikachu, there's something more afoot. I've never played Pokemon (I think I was already too old when it became a craze). I've never played this video game. I've never seen any of the movies or the TV shows. I know only a scant few things about this franchise. That said, I found it fairly and reasonably entertaining. It didn't make me want to check out more Pokemon stuff. I know they're trying for a neo-noir for kids, a Who Framed Roger Rabbit meets Blade Runner kind of vibe but it doesn't quite live up to it. The visual effects are pretty good though. I can take it or leave it.

Oscar Prospects: Visual Effects is actually a possibility.

Grade: C+
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2019

Post by Sabin »

Captain Marvel is similar to Bohemian Rhapsody in that for the first twenty minutes, I said out loud "This is TERRIBLE" about ten minutes. And then after an hour I said, "Aw, crap. Do I like this?"

It's not a good movie. I don't recommend it. I didn't have an awful time, and I think the reason why is that every character in this movie wholeheartedly accepts every ridiculous thing that happens when there is no earthy reason for them to do so. It's pretty remarkable. This film's utter commitment to its own silliness becomes charming in a way. And of course, it features Marvel's battle-tested plot structure which ensures (quality-wise) a high floor and a low ceiling. So, it ends up being not as bad as it should be.

Takeaways:
* It's actually not a time travel movie. It just takes place in the 90's.
* Brie Larson is not given a character. The throughline about her not being in control of her emotions when really that's just a line by those manipulating her would track better if her behavior was discernibly different from the beginning of the film to the end of the film. Interesting idea. They didn't make it work.
* Samuel L. Jackson is very good. The VFX utilized to de-age him is remarkable.
* Being progressive means caring about refugees.
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2019

Post by OscarGuy »

They screwed the pooch on Captain Marvel in this movie. Her own movie is fairly good and definitely makes a good case for her as a character. She was not well used in Endgame at all.
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2019

Post by Sabin »

A few words on Endgame (and Infinity War)...

This is television. In retrospect Infinity War and Endgame have a combined running time of 5 hours and 40 minutes. It's massively-budgeted, scaled, and promoted television but to watch Avengers: Endgame is to watch a season (not series, don't be fooled) finale. Maybe we should start to look at them both of them more as a season of television? It'd be kinder to them.

Marvel films have always been more about the parts than the whole. The best of them (Guardians of the Galaxy) transcend the parts to create a cohesive, emotional narrative. For me, so does Avengers: Infinity War. Against my better judgment, it moved me, much as the penultimate episode of a season does. It was (in social media parlance) "a mood." It effectively sold me on the gravity of the events, but more so it forced me to admit that, yes, I care about these characters. After watching Endgame, I'm forced to concede that it was Infinity War's rubric of desperation that worked for me. It was at long last a Marvel film felt like it had meaningful stakes. The villain, Thanos, represents the ultimate threat to Marvel characters: a person who doesn't care about personal relationships. In the MCU, destroying a friendship is worse than destroying a nation. A DC film would show the "Thanos Snap" by showing nations destroyed. Endgame opens with a support group. I have mixed feelings about this approach. It's television but it's dramatically compelling.

As for Endgame, it's all parts. It might be more all parts than any other film I've seen. By the end of it, I felt as though I'd watched the first hour of a Marvel movie, the second hour of a Back to the Future movie, and the third hour of a Lord of the Rings movie. That's rather fitting of the MCU. It's remix cinema. It's diverting fan service. That middle part is quite fun and the film's strongest pleasures lie in the character inversions, especially those involving a merged Hulk and a fat Thor. But by the end, I was reflecting less on the movie and more on the fact that I'd spent eleven years caring about this stuff.

NOTE: I haven't seen Captain Marvel yet but Brie Larson brings the film to an absolute halt with her uninteresting performance as this deus ex machina. I know the character from the comics fairly well. I will certainly watch Captain Marvel but I am not looking forward to it.

FINAL NOTE: I must have been in some kind of mood that day. I had a lot of fun but it wasn't enough to get past the fact that I've grown and moved on from this franchise.
Last edited by Sabin on Sat May 04, 2019 11:21 am, edited 1 time in total.
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