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Reviews
Atlas (2024)
A solid sci-fi that explores more than a strange new world...
At first glance, Atlas is a slick sci-fi action. We learn within the first few minutes of the film that Earth's population took a pounding after an AI uprising, but has since become a technologically advanced civilisation, capable of faster-than-light travel, united in defending itself from rogue AI on a planetary scale.
After obtaining the whereabouts of the android behind the deadly uprising decades previously, an elite troupe of soldiers and their advanced military hardware head off-world on a mission to bring him to justice...
Had Atlas let this simply play out, we would have seen Jennifer Lopez accomplish little more than a weird remake of Aliens. As it is though, the film invests heavily in the exploring the interactional boundaries of artificial intelligence and the repercussions/impacts as they pertain to trust.
I was very impressed with the way the story, the director and Jennifer Lopez dealt with this.
Story (as it pertains to AI):
A number of issues are explored, including; Can AI be trusted? To what extent? Is a kind of symbiosis between human and artificial intelligence sometimes necessary? Is the mutual trust necessary for a 'Ranger' to harmonise with their military tech a step our leading actor is willing to take, especially when considering her past AI experiences...?
Director:
Creating a sci-fi that successfully balances hi-tech action with serious themes (we might have to deal with in the near future) is no easy task. The director not only manages this with bravado, but also draws a top-notch performance from Jennifer Lopez to help pull it off.
Jennifer Lopez:
I have to admit, I can't remember having seen anything with JL that I found bad. In fact, be it a romantic comedy, or a self-justice flick, I think she always does a pretty good job convincing me of her role. This is the first time her acting has really impressed me though, despite the genre not being considered typical for tickling the most out of actors. I found the mutual trust issues as they pertain to AI very interesting, and exploring them convincingly is a credit to Jennifer Lopez.
To sum up, the CGI is top, the characters aren't ridiculous or annoying as they so often seem to be in sci-fis, the story was solid and very well executed. As a sci-fi lover, I'd be very happy to see more of these kinds of quality genre instalments...
Passengers (2016)
I LOVE this movie. Simply LOVE it.
Before writing this review, I got sidetracked by the goof section. Most of those taking the time to make an entry were showing off with their knowledge of the distance of slingshot targets compared to the duration and speed travelled, rotation of stars out the windows, ion drive efficiency, artificial gravitation restrictions - the list goes on... While I'm quite certain these criticisms are correct, I'm equally certain that they are all beside the point. This isn't a documentary on the technical challenges facing extra planetary colonisation efforts. It's a romantic adventure set in space. And Passengers is simply beautiful!
I think it's safe to write the following synopsis without spoiling:
Approximately a quarter of the way into an interstellar journey to a colony planet 120 years away from Earth, a passenger is revived from stasis when damage from asteroid debris causes his hibernation pod to malfunction. Around a year later, suffering from a combination of cabin fever and desperate loneliness, he commits a cardinal sin by waking another passenger...
My last sentence, while simple, reminds me to give Chris Pratt a call out for some top notch acting here. The moral dilemma of 'stranding someone on an island' to combat one's own loneliness is explored masterfully by both Pratt and the director. You can feel his inner turmoil, sympathise with his dilemma, and relate to his ultimate choice.
His new shipmate, Jennifer Lawrence is well cast here. She's a Gold class passenger and she carries herself like one. A friendship ensues, then a romance - and unavoidably: a reckoning.
How it all turns out, you'll have to see for yourself. One one final note, I would like to mention the score. While Passengers is fiction set in space, the background music in this film is truly out of this world. I've seen this movie so many times that I can 'watch' it with my eyes closed. Thanks to the score, it's beautiful either way...
Magellan (2017)
A long journey with little to show for it
The title of this review describes both the film and the viewing experience itself...
As a sci-fi lover, I'll watch pretty well anything of science-based fiction. It doesn't have to be big budget, it doesn't have to be original and it doesn't have to have a Hollywood ending. It does however, have to be good.
Right from the word go, Magellan makes it clear that it's been shot on a shoestring budget. NASA's conference room looks like the teachers' lounge in a community college. The actors are new and few. The set lighting appears to consist of two torches and the interiors of the two space vessels leave a lot to the viewer's imagination. Unless of course, you're willing to accept that a huge spacecraft with a gravity ring can be controlled by a single touchscreen mounted to a wall with exposed metal brackets. But we're here for the story right?
Even if we put aside for a moment, the laboratory that consists of a white sandblasting cabinet, the huge spacecraft that appears to harbour but two rooms with 12 foot ceilings and a painter's overall spacesuit with a helmet that's fogging because it's not hooked to an air supply, we're still left with plot problems that can't be blamed on budget...
Synopsis: NASA has received three musical/mathematical transmissions from three separate locations from within our solar system - prompting a race against the Chinese to make the greatest discovery in history.
We the viewers, are then asked to accept that the best person for this 10 year mission is a rookie astronaut, that the stakes are too high to entrust the tasks ahead to robots/rovers, and this huge spacecraft only has room and provisions for one. Then there's a sideline story with the main character's wife that the director explores with so little depth that it's absolutely pointless. The one guy they trust with this mission is so unprofessional - experimenting with alien objects using his bare hands - that the whole outing starts to take its toll. Did I mention NASA had provided him with some very sturdy ZipLoc bags so there could be no contact?
I found many parallels to Interstellar. Long space journey. Stasis. Taking a lander to touchdown on foreign worlds. There's even Magellan's low-budget version of AI support by way of voice-only computers.
I'd like to give Magellan more stars - if
for nothing more than to encourage filmmakers to scratch together the
money and take the leap. But the lack of production effort, script development and directing discretion simply asks too much of the viewer for the limited payoff.
How limited? If the main star was Matthew MacConaughey and Christopher Nolan was behind the camera, they'd still have problems bumping this up to a 5 if they had to stay on script.
The Marvels (2023)
The Marvels Review
Let me start by saying that I don't rate everything I see. It usually has to be really good - or really, REALLY bad. Then there are the times when the rating is so far off the mark that it really gets my gall. The current rating for this MCU outing is one of those times...
Before embarking on this super hero adventure, I watched Ms Marvel to help better understand one of The Marvels' main characters. So glad I did! Not only did it clarify who's who, the 6 part mini series was some of the best entertainment I've enjoyed of late. Ironically, I was 'driven' to rate it for the same reason I'm rating this as well.
Rather than bore you with a deep dive into the cinematic MCU's inability to correctly capture the spirit of the original comics (I never read them), or try to show off with an analysis of racial stereotyping and Hollywood's failure to address it (give me a break), I will tell you this about The Marvels: IT'S A LOT OF FUN!!!
The story is good.
The acting is good.
The special effects are FANTASTIC.
It really is top-notch entertainment for the whole family.
I never spoil, so I have to be careful with my formulation when discussing a scene about three quarters of the way into the film... Let's just say that it stems from a familiar 'cat' on the space station - and that it managed to provoke a genuine belly laugh from me.
Don't listen to the haters! This is a top MCU instalment that shouldn't be missed.
Ms. Marvel (2022)
It's as close to perfect as it gets
I am a white male in his mid 50s - and almost let this one slide because apparently, this is one for teenage girls only... Nothing could be further from the truth!
This six part superhero mini series was as close to perfect as it gets. The casting was FANTASTIC, and the characters they played anything but cliché. The cultural exposure was a privilege, a reminder that there are warm-hearted families and communities of diverse religious backgrounds everywhere in the world.
The plot was solid, the locations great, the special effects seamless, the sideline stories enhancing - I was very impressed!
To be honest, this one had slipped completely under my radar, but I wanted to fully appreciate the characters in The Marvels. Otherwise, it's a bit like watching the second instalment of Dr Strange without having first seen Wanda Vision. I'm so glad I did!
If anyone who had anything to do with the production of this ever reads my review: My hat is off to you!
When considering how to rate this, it came down to a simple question: What could detract from a 10 star rating? I couldn't think of anything.
The Equalizer 3 (2023)
A fitting finale
The director absolutely nailed this, the third - and apparently last outing - for Denzel Washington as Robert McCall.
Deciding to get straight into it, rather than waste time on some sort of origin explanation, we see the aftermath of an entanglement with The Equalizer. Any disappointed you might feel for being cheated out of the action is quickly laid to rest, as McCall promptly lays everyone still alive to rest - bar one. And this triggers - forgive the pun - the situation that leads to the film's main storyline.
I started this review by claiming that the director nailed this and I'd like to elaborate. While The Equalizer franchise is about action, it's even more about the satisfaction that comes with brutal justice. The director not only does a fantastic job of capturing the heart and soul of provincial Italy, he also provides us with characters you absolutely loath, leaving you chomping at the bit to see how and when McCall is going to 'punish' them for their bad behaviour. This balancing act between building the frustration that comes with tyranny - and the satisfactory release felt when justice is dealt - is a genuine credit to the director.
The only thing I don't like about this film is the thought that it was the last.
Deus (2022)
A mess caused by the director
I love sci-fi. It doesn't have to have big-name stars, Hollywood shine, futuristic bells and whistles, aliens, or seamless CGI. It just has to science-based fiction.
DEUS kicks off with a low budget glimpse of a future earth that hasn't fared well. We then see parts of a space vessel on route to Mars that keep your hopes up that this low budget outing could well deliver. The ship is gritty, more like the Nostromo than the Enterprise D and we get to meet the crew. This is where everything goes south...
To explain what I mean, I'd like to use the ship's captain as an example. To think that someone so lacking in character, leadership qualities or command abilities could be chosen to lead any important mission - just defies any logic. This is clearly attributable to the directing and not the acting - good performers in the film fare almost equally poorly - and to be quite honest, I felt sorry for those on screen. I had the feeling that the director was trying to get some Event Horizon/Sunshine intrigue vibe going, but falls so short of the mark that it's completely pointless.
It's a shame really. The basic premise and the mini plot twists could have carried the film had it been shot right. As it is, the character development is so thin and the roles most play so annoying that it's hard to care about what happens to any of them.
I gave this a 3 but it's more like a 2. Some good acting by those able to make the most of their roles despite the lack of directing - and a premise I found slightly interesting tipped the scales towards a more generous rating.
Who knows... perhaps someone will take the potential behind DEUS one day - and turn it into a movie worth watching.
Sisu (2022)
Inglorious B&@s#rds meets The Revenant
WOW!
Let me start by saying this: anyone saying negative stuff about this film, simply doesn't understand what it is. It's not an historically accurate account of WWII. It's not a racist attack on Germans (I live in Germany and my wife is German). It's not a documentary about one man's determination to survive against all odds. It's a very well done tongue-in-cheek splatter. And when I say well done - I mean VERY well done!
The similarities to some of Tarantino's work is so obvious, that it's more a nod than a theft. And while Tarantino is willing to sacrifice congruity to incorporate his hit and miss attempts at art, Sisu prefers to stay the course.
Complaining about this film is like going to a movie theatre to see John Wick 3, then whining that there is too much violence. Or having a go at the latest Adam Sandler outing because you don't like silly films...
Really!?!
Looking for a really good action splatter that successfully walks the fine line between absolutely ridiculous and ridiculously well executed? THIS IS THE MOVIE FOR YOU!
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)
Underrated - unfortunately
The problem with this third outing for Ant-man isn't the story, the CGI, or the villain - it's the general viewer: us.
This film has elements of several syfys including Rick and Morty, Guardians Vol. 2, Ragnarok, Ready Player One, and Star Wars - and speaking of the latter, I'm reminded of why parts 7, 8 and 9 of the Lucas universe didn't really do it for me: I've moved on since seeing part 4 back in '77. Seeing a remake of A New Hope repackaged as The Force Awakens doesn't interest me - even if the special effects are much better.
Let's break Quantumania down without spoiling.
Story: There is a story. Is it mind-boggling with amazing twists and ground-breaking plot development? No, but it has a story that justifies a big screen action hero flick.
CGI: Honestly don't know what some people are complaining about. Bright like Ragnarok. As diversified as Ready Player One. Worlds on the scale of Star Wars. Creatures to challenge the out-of-the-box multiverse through which Rick and Morty have their adventures... Well done!
The Villain: For me, the Kang aspect reminded me of Rick and Morty (The Citadel). The character of Kang in itself was a worthy opponent and the actor did a good job giving him some depth. Look forward to seeing him in the Marvel universe again.
As moviegoers, we have become spoilt. You can't keep raising the bar and complain when films don't meet almost impossible expectations. Don't get me wrong, this isn't one of the top Marvel outings like the first Guardians of the Galaxy. But it's a lot of entertainment and well worth a look once you accept that not every Marvel film is going to be better than the last one you watched.
65 (2023)
Solid sci-fi with solid acting
Love sci-fi so I thought I'd check this out. Pleasantly surprised how good this was compared to the rating. Adam Driver's character is a pilot, not an elite soldier, so keeping this in mind, he does a pretty good job achieving his objective on a foreign planet full of aggressive reptiles.
As the title suggests, the film takes place on Earth around 65 million years ago. The debris trailing the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs, causes Driver's ship to crash on Earth. The imminent impact of the main rock also sets up a deadline to get back off the planet.
The sci-fi aspects take a back seat for much of the ride, but it's always there as it should be. Rather than wowing the viewer with laser weapons that blow devastating holes in everything, we see a modern weapon the carrier is glad to have, but not the solution to every danger.
Well worth the watch for those looking for a solid sci-fi without constant sci-fi bells and whistles.
Kill List (2011)
Genre blah blah - time you won't get back!
This movie is a mess! The acting is good but no one plays a character with any redeeming features. You spend half your time turning up the volume in an attempt to understand what people are saying- and the other half turning it back down again because the soundtrack is so loud. There are some brutal scenes that are quite disturbing, tricking you into thinking someone behind the camera knows what they're doing- and has a plan. The 'twist' in the end can be seen coming and in no way justifies sitting through this.
I felt quite betrayed by the good reviews and strongly advise you to waste a few hours on something better.
Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
Enjoyable from start to finish
Let me start by saying that I never read action hero comic books as a kid. It seems that most of the people that had any kind of problem with this film, are those that feel betrayed because this movie strays too far from the comic book version of Thor...
I consider myself a pretty good barometer for movies in general and found this to be one of the most satisfying, entertaining and enjoyable cinematic experiences of late. Perhaps the comic book Thor is lot more serious, because the main problem the hardcore fans seem to have with this film is the fact that it's fun. And when I say fun, I mean REALLY FUN! It's full of vibrant landscapes, interesting characters, humour, action, drama, science fiction...
There's a tad more fun to be had when you understand the references to other Marvel installments (Thor, Doctor Strange, The Avengers, etc.) but the movie can definitely be enjoyed as a stand alone film. If you're looking for a top-notch popcorn flick that will keep you (and the family) entertained for two hours, you would be hard pressed to find better value for your buck than this...