fortlauderdalefestival45 Reviews

Captain America: Civil War (2016)

Good for superhero film

[13 February 2021]

Not a huge fan of superhero movies, but this is good.

The implementation of comedy for a movie like this was needed to be executed carefully and they managed to pull it off. While the tension builds between Captain America and Iron Man, we get to deeply explore their character motivations and beliefs throughout the movie.

With the previous heroic acts that Tony Stark had, we are now met with a guilty and troubled character. His matured character arc was interesting to dissect because we see him constantly trying to contain each member of the Avengers and take responsibility for their actions while handling the diplomatic relations and internal heartbreak that was caused by Pepper Potts.

On the opposite corner, we have Steve Rogers who is fighting for his beliefs even if he has to go against the law just to protect his long time friend Bucky. These character depths add emotional weight to the story which leads us to have more difficulty on which team to root for as both sides have been well developed. The new heroes that are introduced to us in this movie are Black Panther and Spider-Man.

They were given enough screen time and their performances were amazing. I'm surprised that Black Panther was given a lot of screen time considering that the audience isn't familiar with his background. Spider-Man was a strong element in this film. The scenes he's in provide comedic relief, but his CGI suit looked very unrealistic and half-baked.

Final: The Rapture (2013)

Kind of a mixed bag, but it still deserves at least an 8 (my take on it anyway)

[1 October 2013]

Pros:

• Epic scope: This is without a doubt the biggest faith-based end times movie ever made. The exact budget of the film is unknown, but due to its locations, I would guess at $15 million. And the film-makers really make sure you're aware of how expensive the movie would've been to make, with a number of staggering exotic locations featuring tanks and helicopters. Even a riot scene at staples center (although I'm not sure if that was cgi).....

• Actors: All very good in this movie, and is definitely one of the best things about the film. The four characters make for compelling and likable heroes who have to rely more on their intelligence than physical power. .......

• Action scenes: As mentioned before, there's a ton of end times action in this movie. And yes, a lot of them are CGI, which I personally don't have a problem with because there were so many it's unlikely they could've done a lot of these scenes without it. The planes sequence is great and the taking over of the subway car is good - made you feel the rapture was coming, man.........

Cons:

• Lack of gore: Now don't get me wrong, I'm a Christian, and I don't need blood and guts in every single movie I watch. But with end times films, gory violence is a necessity. You need to see people getting ripped apart to emphasise how they are literally the "end" is and you need to see humans die graphic deaths to reinforce how much of a threat the last days can be. But this film wants to appeal to pretty much anyone aged 10 and up and that it's "Christian" so of course we get very little blood, plus no on-screen guts, severed limbs, or exploding heads.

• Shaky cam: This kind of ties in with the lack of gore; it's like the cameraman is shying away from the more graphic moments (it's The Hunger Games all over again). The shaky cam's only really noticeable in the film's first half hour though, while the rapture is just beginning, so it's not a huge problem. Still a little bothersome though.....

• Unfulfilling ending: This movie does end in an abrupt fashion, and kind of left me wanting more. It ends very suddenly, and I kind of thought to myself- "really? That's it?" That being said, the jarringly sudden ending could be seen as a good thing - amazing scene in the end put a lump in my throat

• Slight lack of tension: The movie lacks some much needed suspense because it's basically a character study on these guys saving themselves.I don't know, a few more well-developed side characters would've gone quite a long way in making me more invested in the film's events.

So there's my thoughts on this film. It's a mixed bag, but ultimately I'd recommend it. I give it a solid 8, no doubt. It's worth seeing at the cinema just for those spectacular exotic locations. It's flawed as though, so go in with moderate expectations. It could be a whole lot better, but ultimately the film's still pretty decent, and a good one to experience on the big screen. It's certainly better than 90% of the summer blockbusters and it made me really question my faith like no film before....in a sense that deserves a higher score....

Cool Runnings (1993)

Great John Candy Film.

[27 March 2007]

Cool Runnings is phenomenal and John Candy is always brilliant.

What I love about this film is its heart. Not too many films have heart these days, but this one definitely does.

I also love the fish out of water context made funny and fresh.

I think john Candy's character is wonderful. I have seen just about everything that he has done, and i have never been disappointed. I would love to see someone do a biography movie on his life, I would be interested in finding out what others think as to who should play him in a movie, I can not think of anyone off hand that would do him justice

The Jewel of the Nile (1985)

Fun film of the 80s

[26 March 2007]

Great fun film of the 80's. But some stereo types of Colombia should not exist. We must get past these awful stereotypes of people and countries.

Slam-bang romantic adventure with all sorts of goodies, aside from the always sexy Turner. There's suspense in a mad dash for buried treasure and twinkling humor between the perfectly matched Douglas and Turner. DeVito is also in top as a bumbling member of the thugs who have kidnapped Turner's sister. Director Teague keeps the pace going smoothly with wonderful mixes of adventure, suspense and come.

Let's make more of these films!

The Last Samurai (2003)

Great film!

[26 March 2007]

This was a pretty good movie, not Cruises best, but still pretty good. Tom Cruise did an extraordinary job as the Civil War vet, as did Ken Watanabe and Zwick's directing tricks were masterful.

I loved that Zwick finally got an Asian film right. Watanabe was correctly portrayed and wasn't a stereo-type you see so often in Hollywood films.

The story was epic and well-made. Cruise should have been nominated. Watanabe should have won.

We need more films with Asians, Asian-American actors. My estimate is 10% of the box office traffic comes from this community, yet their becoming disenfranchised with Hollywood.

Overall terrific job!

Rain Man (1988)

Good film!

[26 March 2007]

This is one of Tom Cruise's and Dustin Hoffman's best films to date and also became an instant favorite of mine. What doesn't make me happy is that it isn't going down as one of the classic movies of all time and I feel it should be getting more recognition for what a great film it was. If you like 'The Natural', you'll love this movie, seeing as they were/are both directed by Barry Levinson also did a great job directing this masterpiece and I'm sorry I haven't had a chance to see more of his works.

'The Natural' is also one of my favorite films of all time, but Rain Man is good, too.