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JSkagnetti
JSkagnetti's stats
- Review count4
- Helpfulness votes2
- First reviewSeptember 21, 2012
- Last reviewJuly 15, 2013
- Featured reviews0
- Average rating3.8
JSkagnetti's Reviews
Overall rating
4
/
5
Giant Robots Punching Monsters
PostedJuly 15, 2013
Dialogue
3
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5
Special Effects
5
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5
Art Direction
5
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5
Acting
4
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5
Story
2
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5
Camerawork
5
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5
I had been looking forward to “Pacific Rim” for quite some time. As a fan of really anything director Guillermo del Toro has done, I was really excited for this film to come out. I loved “Blade II”, “Hellboy 1 & 2”, and “Pan’s Labyrinth”. We also have a pretty decent cast including the always epic Idris Elba (“Thor” & “Prometheus”), Charlie Hunnam (TVs “Sons of Anarchy”), del Toro regular and fellow “Sons of Anarchy” actor Ron Perlman, Rinko Kikuchi (“Babel”), Charlie Day (TVs “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”) being about as annoying as humanly possible, Burn Gorman (“The Dark Knight Rises” & “Johnny English Reborn”), and a very weird role by Clifton Collins Jr (“One Eight Seven” & “Traffic”).
The story here, rather simply, is just to accept that there are giant alien monsters invading Earth from another dimension and mankind has created giant robots to fight them. That’s pretty much it. The monsters are called Kaiju and the robots are called Jaegers. These Jaegers are fighting a losing battle and must try one last ditch effort to stop the extinction of the human race.
Everything about this movie screams awesome. From the giant robots, to the creature design, to the amazing visual effects, it’s all over the top and glorious. That is, if you can let go of some expectations. Once this movie got going I really had to change my expectations or I knew I wasn’t going to enjoy it. I wanted maybe a little more backstory about the original attacks and how humanity reacted to the realization that giant horrible monsters are real. They go over this in a quick flashback with voiceover at the beginning but a lot of it leaves you with questions that are never answered. Honestly though, it didn’t really matter as the reason you’re watching this movie is to see giant robot vs monster fights, and you get that delivered in spades. Maybe a few complaints about how they are almost always fighting in the dark and in the rain. It would have been nice to see a bit more of the daytime battle in Sydney, Australia. Sometimes it’s so dark and stormy that seeing some of the details on these amazingly designed Kaiju can be pretty difficult. I will say that maybe not since “Avatar” did I really feel a sense of awe in watching these colossal beats battle through entire cities. The amount of skill that went into crafting the Kaiju and the Jaegers is all top notch. I mean, once you just let go of any story inconstancies and believe that the world they’re showing you exists, it’s a hell of a ride.
I will say that, sadly, there were 3 characters that drove me absolutely nuts. Charlie Day’s weird JJ Abrams looking scientist was so annoyingly over the top I wanted something to step on him and eat him during every single scene he’s in. He wasn’t funny and neither was his equally ridiculous sidekick Dr. Gottlieb. Burn Gorman plays him as an almost cartoon version of a British person that it’s almost insulting. I hate to say this, as much as I love him; Ron Perlman’s character Hannibal Chau was pretty much completely useless in this movie. He’s not explained. He’s not developed. He’s just a crazy person who dresses funny and then he’s gone. Maybe if we’d have replaced all the scenes of the stupid scientists with Perlman it might’ve helped out a little.
When you get down to it this movie is a dream come true for anime fans and anybody who ever imagined giant robots fighting scary monsters. It’s pure cheeseball fun and I was totally okay with that. It may not have been del Toro’s best but it’s certainly up there. I will say if you’re the kind of person who’s going to enjoy this than you are probably already planning to see it. At least it’s a rare summer movie that delivers exactly what it shows in the trailers. It’s the kind of movie where one of the characters yells out “Rocket Punch!!” and the computer responds “Rocket Punch ENGAGED!” That should tell you a lot about it right there.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
3
/
5
The MEH Gatsby
PostedMay 13, 2013
Dialogue
4
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5
Special Effects
4
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5
Art Direction
3
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5
Acting
4
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5
Story
3
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5
Camerawork
4
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5
"The Great Gatsby" is the newest adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel. This film, directed by director extraordinaire Baz Luhrmann is a fairly accurate iteration of the original source material. I'd say it follows the original book almost too closely. Yes, there are some characters and story threads that took a backseat to the main story, but that's to be expected in any transition from book to screen.
Leonardo DiCaprio is fine enough here. His Gatsby really shows off all of the flaws of the character. His human failings shine here, as he makes mistake after mistake and all we can do is watch a foolish man fall. He talks of wanting his life to shine and to rise above his humble beginnings but loses sight of all of that, for a girl. That girl of course being Daisy, played here by the usually engaging Carey Mulligan. Mostly here she just stands around looking pretty with spinning and dancing. Also, unfortunately, I never believed their tale of love lost and rekindled. The movie just throws the two of them together and says, "Here, these two are in love", and that's about it. Never once did I feel that this was 'a love story for the ages' or anything like that. It was just two flawed and foolish people who don't know what they want, but are perfectly fine destroying anyone around them to get it what they think they want. Tobey Maguire's Nick Carraway was actually pretty enjoyable, especially as our wide-eyed innocent that's dragged into this poisonous world of the rich and entitled. I never felt annoyed at Maguire as I sometimes am. Joe; Edgerton's Tom Buchanan was another delightful surprise here. He seemed exactly as he should be. Easy to dislike and hate but captivating enough that I saw him almost the most fully formed character of the whole lot.
Baz Luhrmann is one of my favorite directors with fine films under his belt like "Moulin Rouge" and "Romeo + Juliet". His hyperactive style is one that is appreciated and welcomed in this world with so many paint-by-number directors we have out there. Sadly, here his talent seems almost absent or at least highly subdued. Everything starts out fast and furious at the beginning of the film, but by the middle and eventual end he seems to have just sat back and watched. I don't really know what he could've done with such a somber third act but compared to the wonderfully delightful beginning of the film it really stands out. There's not many laughs here and the only real smiles to be had are during the beginning. Everything else just ends up being unlikeable characters complaining about rich people problems and doing terrible things to each other.
One of the things I always look forward to in a Baz Luhrmann film is the soundtrack. I can't tell you how many hours I spent listening to his other films soundtracks, and this one is no disappointment. I love what Jay-Z and Luhrmann have done here. The soundtrack was released before the film so I'd been listening to it over and over for a week or two before seeing the movie. That, however, was somewhat confusing and disappointing. He's got these great and powerful songs but in the movie they're hardly used at all. They will start out one of these songs loud and all around you but they quickly fall off to another song or Maguire's constant voice-overs. The songs are mixed in with each other, played off and quiet in the background or barely heard at all. If you're going for the music, just get the album itself and enjoy it at anytime and in full.
This was really a difficult one for me to rate. I love Luhrmann and I thought the cast was excellent, but it's just that snooze of a third act that make this movie hard to recommend. I'd totally recommend seeing the first part of the movie, and even in 3D, but forget about that slow and plodding second and third acts.
Pros great actors
Cons slow
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
3
/
5
It's Better than Die Hard 5
PostedMarch 26, 2013
Dialogue
1
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5
Special Effects
4
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5
Art Direction
4
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5
Acting
3
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5
Story
2
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5
Camerawork
4
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5
"Olympus Has Fallen" is the first of two movies released this year about the White House being taken over by terrorists. The second being "White House Down" which comes out June 28th. Here we have Gerard Butler as the secret service agent tasked with saving the entire country. Aaron Eckhart plays the obligatory kidnapped president and Morgan Freeman as the Speaker of the House who wisely decided not to be kidnapped. Eckhart and Freeman do the best with what they're given, which isn't much. Eckhart yells a lot and is pretty good at thrashing about. Freeman seems to be wondering why he's even in this movie. You also have great talent like Angela Bassett as somebody who I forget what her title actually was, though she did get to sit at the big table and yell into the speaker phone with all the big wigs. Butler is really the only reason to see this movie. He's freaking unstoppable as the invincible Secret Service agent who works across the street and decides he might as well save the day and kill just about every single terrorist that the Capitol Police, SWAT, United States Military, and his fellow Secret Service agents couldn't shoot. Some movies can actually have you a little frightened at how real a situation is presented and can get you wondering if this could really happen to us. This is not one of those movies. The takeover is so ridiculously planned that you wonder if the US troops weren't in on it, as that's the only way this would happen. You have to really suspend your doubts and common sense to really get into it. Everybody does things that make no sense at all. There's a scene where the White House is being defended by a comic book superweapon they brought with them and it's destroyed during a failed attack, but once the first assault is over and the superweapon is gone they just decide not to try again. You'd think that now would be the time to attack but nope. Lots of things are just dropped like that. Oh well, I will say it was waaaaaay better than this years actual "Die Hard" movie. Yes, there are scenes actually ripped from the original "Die Hard" but I saw it more of an homage to the father of action movies. Butler's Mike Banning may be no John McClane, but he'll do in a pinch. Antoine Fuqua directed this and I think it's his best work since "Training Day". Some of the special effects and wire-work are a little unbelievable but it's serviceable. There are a lot of physics issues that would drive some people absolutely nuts. I don't think anybody involved in this movie knows how a helicopter actually works. They're not freaking sci-fi hovercraft! Overall, the movie was better than I expected and enjoyable if you just toss out your brain, grab some popcorn, and enjoy the explosions. Hell, I'd probably watch this movie again as it's got some great action beats and it's worth it just to see Butler back at being a badass instead of in romantic comedies with Jennifer Aniston or Catherine Zeta-Jones. Well done Mike Banning, you've made your country proud.
Pros well paced, great actors
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
5
/
5
Dredd is the LAW
PostedSeptember 21, 2012
Dialogue
5
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5
Special Effects
5
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5
Art Direction
5
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5
Acting
5
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5
Story
4
/
5
Camerawork
5
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5
This movie was epic! It was non-stop action from beginning to end. As soon as it starts it doesn't let up in it's brutality. It shows a bleak world and an even bleaker set of rules for the inhabitants. Dredd knows what it is and it's an unrelenting hard core action movie. It doesn't try to be anything else. If you dig old school action, then this is your flick!
Pros well paced, great actors
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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