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Reviews
The New Mutants (2020)
Unrealized Potential
I had really been looking forward to this movie. Once it started getting delayed, I figured that wasn't going to be good news. There was a lot of potential that was never fully reached. The story itself wasn't that great and it probably wasn't the best to introduce these characters, but it could have been done much better. I recall this being marketed as a horror movie in teaser trailers years ago, but there wasn't much horror here at all. I'm not sure if this had to do with the director or with the studios. I think bumping up the horror aspects could have improved the movie significantly. The setting of the movie certainly allowed for it, so I don't know why they wouldn't have exploited that more. The pace also needed work. By the end of the movie, I felt like had watched a two hour movie even though it was barely an hour and a half.
I was quite impressed with the cast for the most part. I wasn't familiar with too much of their work, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I think both Alice Braga and Blu Hunt's performances were mediocre, though Hunt's scenes with Masie Williams were her best. Alice Braga was just quite awful. Anya really turned out to be star of the movie. The only criticism that I have of her is her accent. It was quite inconsistent through and she could've definitely worked on it more. She was also the only one that really got to show off her powers, which was a little disappointing. Henry and Charlie were great. I wish both of them had gotten a lot more screen time and also gotten the chance to show off their powers for more than just a few seconds.
There was definitely a lot more that could have been done with this movie and the characters. There were a few scenes that were in the teasers and trailers that didn't make it in the movie and some of the deleted scenes could have made it better. I wish we could have the opportunity to see these characters played by these actors in a different story under better direction in a sequel, but I'm pretty sure that won't happen (even though there's nothing really tying them to Fox's X-Men movies).
Frozen II (2019)
Just Okay
It was an okay movie. It probably didn't really need to be made. It wasn't particularly bad, but it wasn't that great either. This movie probably has about as many songs as the first, but it seems like most of the songs were bunched up in the beginning of the movie, which I feel messed with the pacing of the movie. Also, pretty much all of the songs are forgettable. "Into the Unknown" has grown on me a bit, but none of the songs really compare to the ones in the first movie. Also, Olaf, to me, is one of the most irritating characters ever created. He seems to get more screen time in this one, which again, is a minus to me.
I will say that the animation is excellent, but that's about the only area where it excelled. The story seemed a bit rushed. New characters were introduced, but they weren't really developed. They were kind of just there. I probably will watch it again to see if it grows on me, but I doubt this one will have the impact that its predecessor had.
A Bigger Splash (2015)
What did I watch?
This is the second Luca Guadagnino film I've watched, the first being Call Me By Your Name. I've come to the conclusion that Guadagnino is highly pretentious. Watching both of these films I get the impression that when he was making them his thought process was "I'm going to make a cerebral, artsy movie" rather than letting greatness come naturally. I'm a fan of Tilda Swinton, but her performance here was awful. I understand the circumstances before she took on the role, but if she didn't feel up to it, she shouldn't have taken it. Matthias Schoenaerts and Ralph Fiennes are the stars of the movie, and both of their performances are exceptional, especially the former's. Dakota Johnson was just being Dakota Johnson the whole time.
The film had a lot of potential, but it never quite fulfilled that potential. Reading about all the changes that were made to the story make me think that if those changes hadn't been made, it would've been a much better film. Pacing, I think, is an issue for Guadagnino. Certain ideas are introduced but not elaborated on, while others that are not that important or relevant to the story get stretched out. If the running time were cut by 20-30 minutes, it would probably be a better, more efficient telling of the almost non-existent story.
Call Me by Your Name (2017)
It was alright
This is the first movie based on a book where I've read the book before I watched the movie, and now I fall into the category of those people who say that the book is always better than the movie.
This film isn't horrible by any means. It's beautifully shot. The fact that it was shot on film rather than digital adds some grain to the picture that definitely gives the movie a little something extra. The visuals were definitely the best part of the movie. As for the storytelling aspect of the movie, I do think it left much to be desired. In the book there are a lot of little moments and back and forth between Elio and Oliver that build up and culminate in Elio telling Oliver that he has something to tell him. On the other hand, in the movie it just kind of happens out of nowhere. If I hadn't read the book, I might have not even known that Elio had any kind of feelings towards Olivers. Also, the appearance of supporting characters like Chiara and Marzia was so minimal that they might as well have been left out of the movie completely. The thing that bothered me the most was that scenes began abruptly and ended abruptly. I'm not sure if that was intentional or not, but it was unpleasant to me.
Maybe I should have waited and read the book after having watched the movie. Maybe I wouldn't have such disappointment over how the movie turned out. Clearly a lot of people enjoyed the movie, but I wonder how man are on the same boat as me.