meringham's stats
- Review count8
- Helpfulness votes0
- First reviewMay 3, 2008
- Last reviewMarch 24, 2012
- Featured reviews0
- Average rating4.1
meringham's Reviews
Overall rating
3
/
5
Worth seeing but not great
PostedMarch 24, 2012
I've read the books and that's usually a negative because rarely can movies do a good book justice. I think the best way is like Potter 3 - create its own energy. They followed the book but left out its soul. So a lot of the raw emotion and brutality isn't there. I get the need for a PG-13 rating but in the games you don't feel the cold, how absolutely tired and near death Katniss and especially Peeta are at various points. Jennifer Lawrence was fantastic. The kid playing Peeta I think really got it right. And President Snow - pitch perfect. Everyone else was whatever. Again, not bad, just could have been so much better.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
4
/
5
Better than expected
PostedJune 25, 2009
This didn't get good critical reviews and a lot of people had issues w/ the secondary Transformers as racial caricatures. Being of color I thought, for the most part, they were harmless. There is a point where the "twin" autobots say they can't read, and one of them has a gold tooth, both elements that should have been excluded from the film. But outside of a couple of off-putting scenes it's non-stop action, start to finish. Is it art or award-winning? No. But it doesn't purport to be. If you're going to see this, you're going to watch robots and more robots, and there are plenty of those. I think the lead actors do a good job overall. It is a little long and relentless but I was entertained and that's all I expected of it.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
5
/
5
Excellent
PostedMay 8, 2009
Really well done. Start to finish it was well directed, well acted, well written, great and clean special effects. It's what a great summer film should be. Were there issues? Sure - but they don't detract from the overall enjoyment. I thought they did a fantastic job both pulling in all the right elements from the Star Trek mythology and juicing it up with new ideas and blood. Go check it out - a heck of a good time.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
4
/
5
Better than expected
PostedMarch 7, 2009
Wasn't sure how it would be - critics' reviews seemed to be love/hate. I wasn't bowled over like with Dark Knight but it was a very good film. Definitely more of a character study where you see how each of these people becomes a "superhero". The world was nicely realized, script was a good representation of the novel and the acting was good. I thought it might have a bunch of crazy editing but because of the character work they kept that to the action sequences.
It did go on a bit long. Amusingly, the action at the end was less impressive to me. Still, a lot better and more interesting than most comic book films. I'm not sure what non-fans will think of it, but it was solid for me.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
5
/
5
Brilliant
PostedJuly 20, 2008
Really quite extraordinary. I went in with inflated expectations because of all the buzz and great reviews but it topped them anyway. All the actors were top notch, great script, fantastic photography - the movie was really gorgeous to look at. And certainly, Heath Ledger owns the Joker role. Absolutely perfect job and about as far from Jack as possible. Only complaint I have is that the very first action scene w/ Batman was hard to follow. Regardless, highest recommendation. Certainly makes a convincing case for the best comic adaptation on film.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
4
/
5
Solid
PostedJune 27, 2008
Not brilliant because it is pretty over the top. But the action is nonstop and James McAvoy does a heck of a job as a kind of thinking man's action hero. Main complaint was that the secondary characters didn't really get much of a chance to shine - it's McAvoy's movie from start to finish. I think even with action films it is possible to have character development - see any of the Bourne films. That said, because he's a good actor it wasn't as much of an issue as it could've been. Overall, very well directed - all the actors buy into the world of the film from the start and that also means a lot. Special effects, for the most part, excellent.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
3
/
5
Better than the first but not great
PostedJune 14, 2008
The action in this film is great. There are 3 main action scenes with Banner or Hulk and all are well done. Everything in between - the character work, advancing the plot, etc. is a real mess. It actually seems like there was more to this but it's missing - evidenced by some stuff from the trailer not appearing in the final cut. The movie's almost 2 hours as is so maybe the studio made it a business decision to cut out some of the "deeper" scenes. But I think they easily could've thrown a couple of plot wrenches in there - added some thriller elements that would've given it some real kick. The current version was solid - don't get me wrong - but it could've been really good and they missed that opportunity.
Anyway - acting was fine - nothing great but nobody was over the top or bad. Ed Norton and Liv Tyler have some chemistry but mainly due to Liv Tyler. Norton doesn't really sell those scenes but then he's playing a guy who has a tortured soul. The writing was decent - a few bad lines but nothing groan inducing. The only flat out bad part was the opening, which seemed really corny in comparison to the rest of the film.
Anyway - overall pretty good. It's a much better launch for the franchise than the Bana version.
Anyway - acting was fine - nothing great but nobody was over the top or bad. Ed Norton and Liv Tyler have some chemistry but mainly due to Liv Tyler. Norton doesn't really sell those scenes but then he's playing a guy who has a tortured soul. The writing was decent - a few bad lines but nothing groan inducing. The only flat out bad part was the opening, which seemed really corny in comparison to the rest of the film.
Anyway - overall pretty good. It's a much better launch for the franchise than the Bana version.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
5
/
5
Extremely well done comic book adaptation
PostedMay 3, 2008
If you haven't seen, this gets the highest recommendation - absolutely go check it out. Start to finish, one the most entertaining films I've ever seen. Robert Downey Jr. owns every second he's on the screen. Superheroes are supposed to be larger than life and he makes Tony Stark/Iron Man completely believable and a joy to watch. The film's not without its faults but they're minor and I'd say no question one of the top 5 superhero films made. In no particular order - Batman Begins, Spiderman, X-Men 2, Superman and Iron Man.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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