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Reviews
Logan (2017)
Excellent, intense drama with brilliant acting
Logan is an excellent movie by itself, first and foremost. The atmosphere and the acting are so brilliant that superpowers are like a back story, almost like a layer just added on top of a great plot.
This is a sad, heavy and intense, gripping drama, centered on two old mutants, which don't even seem that. It is about human emotions and desires of two old men against a backdrop of a very believable dystopian future.
I saw it with a friend who didn't know anything about X-Men and she was amazed at how good the acting, the heavy atmosphere and the overall drama was. She didn't need to know anything about the franchise to enjoy the movie - that's how good it is.
I highly recommend it. On a side note, this is NOT for kids. It isn't your typical comic book adventure, far from that.
Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015)
Formulaic
If you are not a die-hard Star Wars fan, you won't exactly be amazed with this new episode. A lot of stuff is really predictable and formulaic. It is OK as entertainment. Newer generations will probably get a kick from this, but not someone who liked the first trilogy and is expecting something new here.
There was far more drama in previous installations of the franchise, far more powerful scenes, emotional scenes, engaging and more believable characters, dialogue and yes, even fight and action scenes.
It is nice to see the old familiar faces again, but that's it. Nothing spectacular or innovative. Abrams is far from Lucas' genius and this can be seen all throughout this film. It is hard to believe that Harrison Ford can't bring out Han Solo properly.
If all the other movies that get churned out in these times weren't so utterly bad, I would have given this one even 5/10.
It Follows (2014)
return of the real horror
Finally a real horror in a long time! No more bloody, slasher crap. This is how the really scary movies were made. Suspense and fear are created by great cinematography and music.
The pace of the movie is slow and almost no to few special effects are present. I surely hope that this movie hails the return of the great horror genre: we are scared of the unknown and not violence for the sake of it.
All the young actors are promising, they really pulled it off. Kudos to the director who also wrote the script, I am looking forward to his next movie.
Go see it, you won't regret it!
Blackhat (2015)
Just horrible, avoid it.
This movie is a complete mess. Bad acting, script full of holes, unbelievable, naive and just plain bad. Michael Mann just joined Ridley Scott with this movie. As it seems, he is just another washed up, old director with no ideas.
Blackhat is horrible. I mean, just horrible. The scenes which are supposed to be tense and thrilling are so naive and just plain bad that you have to ask yourself, how did Michael Mann get the funding for this movie? This is a complete waste of time. Mann has certainly a penchant for artsy scenes, some bad (airport after prison release scene), some good (the shootout after carbomb). But overall, the plot, the acting, the 'action' scenes are so bad, that you can't help but wander 'is this the man who directed The Insider?' The only good part of the movie is humanity's unison against an unconvincing enemy, Americans and the Chinese working together, but the acting is so bad , that it can't save the movie.
"Takedown", which portrays Kevin Mitnick's life inaccurately, is way more better than this piece of garbage. At least it is somewhat fun. Blackhat is a piece of crap. Avoid at all costs.
3 stars for humanity's unity.
World War Z (2013)
Don't waste your money. Go see Romero or Snyder instead.
Spoilers ahead.
This is a very bad film, not just a bad zombie film. Being a big fan of zombie flicks, I expected some good entertainment. What was delivered, instead, was an uninteresting storyline, hollow characters and lukewarm suspense.
I have read the book by Max Brooks, which was full of suspense, intelligent individual stories, and above all a great depiction of many nations and their virtues and faults. The book was supposed to be an excellent start for an even better movie. Even the characters that appear in single chapters are fleshed out and very credible. Unfortunately, this can't be said even for the main role played by Brad Pitt. Is this the guy who starred in Fight Club? Yes, but give him a bad script and a bad director and this is what you'll get.
The depiction of the zombie virus outbreak leaves much to be desired. If you want to see a really good one, check out Snyder's remake of Romero's 'Dawn of the Dead'. Excellent suspense, action, drama and fright during the first 10-15 minutes.
What makes WWZ even worse is bad cinematography. Some scenes are there as if just to explain to the uninitiated viewer what's going on, in a kindergarten guide sort of way.
What's the point of Daniella Kertesz's character? She is just following Gerry around without one hand. Mireille Enos is also there just as an excuse for a shabby plot - ah, the drama, her husband has to leave, is not heard from, and then they are reunited.
In the end, the vaccine solution is completely different from what Brooks made of it in his book: a scam from big pharma that just makes things worse.
Zombies jump around as if they were supposed to be frightening. If you want good fast zombies, go see '28 Days Later' or Snyder's 'Dawn of the Dead'. There isn't even any gore here, which you expect in a zombie flick. I suppose the filmmakers avoided it just to be able to have the PG-13 rating and thus make more money.
I gave it 3/10 stars just because of special effects which are top notch. All in all, this is a big waste of time and unfortunately just another Hollywood blockbuster that is completely devoid of any meaning and not entertaining at all.