NuclearDog's stats
- Review count8
- Helpfulness votes1
- First reviewJuly 10, 2010
- Last reviewJuly 22, 2012
- Featured reviews0
- Average rating3.9
NuclearDog's Reviews
Overall rating
4
/
5
Dark Knight Rises
PostedJuly 22, 2012
NuclearDog
from Norman, Ok
Age:45 to 54
Gender:Male
Goes to the movies:few times per year
Dialogue
4
/
5
Special Effects
5
/
5
Art Direction
4
/
5
Acting
4
/
5
Story
3
/
5
Camerawork
5
/
5
There were certainly many aspects of "Dark Knight Rises" that were extraordinary, but too many places did not hold water. In a series that has prided itself in the first 2 installments of portraying the Batman story in a way that is plausible, #3 falls way short of that primary responsibility in key places that should have been easy to attain. Bruce Wayne's 2 month recovery from a broken back by doing a few pushups and pullups after having his vertebrae shoved back in place was comical. Enough people in the world deal with therapists, chiropractors, and surgeons on back conditions to know the portrayal here was more of a betrayal. Not to mention his diagnosis for not having any cartilage left in his knees, basically requiring he need knee replacement surgery, yet still amazingly able to forget that fact when in The Pit. The gizmo he had acquired to bionically enhance his knee was unavailable to him there, was it not? So how did he recover so incredibly well? Oh yeah, he was angry. Don't tell me it's a small thing, because it isn't. My mind was restless because of those simple lapses of effort on the part of the storytellers. It's the little things, the attention to detail, that make the difference between a good movie and a great movie. Another place where the storytelling fell short was that so called Pit. Bruce's time in there wasn't brutal. It was easy. He was never subjected to any kind of torture or abuse at the hands of the inmates. Bane just happened to place Wayne in a cell next to the doctor that treated Bane's own physical ailments back in the day. Come on! Such a great opportunity to really strike that whole theme home in a meaningful way was missed. But there were some truly great moments in the movie. The Bat was loads of fun, as was the quick turn scooter. Anne Hathaway was phenomenal as Selina Kyle. Marion Cotillard was equally awesome as Miranda Tate. Joseph Gordon-Levitt was, as usual, tremendous. Morgan Freeman was his usual awesome self, making what he does look effortless. Michael Caine deserves an Oscar nod for his portrayal of Alfred. Christian Bale was good. For some reason they are unable to focus in on Bruce Wayne's inner turmoil enough to give Bale any meat to chew on. There was more screentime for Batman in this movie, which was awesome. The 2 encounters between the two agonists was exemplary. Tom Hardy. Whew! Yes, he pulled Bane off, doing so by excelling in two key areas. Acting with his eyes, and acting with his physical grace. They carried the day. If the story tellers had put as much effort into their responsibilities as Hardy did for this movie it could've been the best movie of all time, but that accomplishment remains with the earlier summer blockbuster, "The Avengers", which, except for a 1 second lapse when Natasha lands on a rooftop, was pitch perfect, especially for a story with the level of difficulty it had. I mean, it couldn've been "The Fantastic Four", but Whedon chose to pay attention to detail, to put in the effort on every frame of the movie. Too bad the Nolan brothers couldn't have done the same.
Pros well paced, great actors, great fight scenes, great effects
Cons bad storytelling, lack of attention to detail
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
4
/
5
First Avenger, Fifth Marvel
PostedJuly 31, 2011
Marvel Studios has now made 5 movies, and all were very well done. Captain America may be the best of the bunch, although some of that may be personal preference. Growing up I was always partial to Iron Man and The Hulk, though, but of the 5 movies I enjoyed Captain America the most. I love the fact that Marvel Studios has taken over and are producing quality stuff. I'd like to see them re-do Fantastic Four and Daredevil, both of which are screaming for a better approach, similar to the ones in Marvel's Five.Daredevil was an implausible joke while FF just didn't quite find the nail's head. Too light, too sit-commie, and Galactus was a major bust. Ah, but I digress. Everyone in CA was terrific. The story was terrific. The film just created an experience matched only by reading the very best of Marvel's comics, where true and rare gems can often be found. Now Marvel is creating those same gems for the big screen. Huzzah for CGI and filmmakers not afraid to use it!
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
4
/
5
Cowboys and Aliens
PostedJuly 31, 2011
Another of the summer of 2011's great line of fun and well done movies. This movie has Favreau's typical sense of fun, adventure, and attention to detail. Great, great performances by Ford, Craig, Rockwell, Wilde, Carradine, and everyone in the movie. It's been a long time since a movie has given me a shock moment, but this one managed to get me in one scene, although it may not do the same for all. There was only one place in which I found exception: Craig's character proves to be tough as nails and kung-fu master good in a fight at a time when there was no kung-fu, and yet he gets totally kayoed by a former subordinate. It just didn't sit well with me. Other than that one moment, though, everything else played out well, in a manner that could have been plausible had aliens visited 1875 New Mexico Territory.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
3
/
5
Sucker Punch Packs a Punch
PostedMarch 27, 2011
This is a very ambitious movie in terms of what it wants to deliver, which appears to be a high octane, non-stop, over the top, set of action sequences rendered with deft and expertise in CGI scenes to rival any heretofore seen on the big screen, with characters portrayed by scantily clad, high heeled, highly attractive women. At least in part. Unfortunately, those scenes are few and fleeting, unveiled through a story that begins in reality and must filter through a middle, dream or drug induced layer within the main character's mind before reaching the deeper, more ominous theater of operations, as it were. The middle layer is meant for suspense and character buy in, the third for all out fun. I don't know if it's quite successful in its attempts to make us fall in love with the characters, but some level of caring is achieved. The heavy in that realm is as greasy and easily hated as any significant film villain since "The Dark Knight"'s Joker, but he does not appear in the balls to the wall third realm. I don't if he should, but I would tend to think it could've helped the overall storyline. Part of the fun is always beating the odds set forth by the villain seemingly in control. This happens only in part for this film.
Overall this movie is fun, visually wonderful and exciting, and as interesting as a fantasy/action movie normally can be. Did it have that 'sucker punch' the director was looking for? I doubt it. Any one of the trailers guaranteed that would be taken away, given the resulting film in toto. Is it worthwhile? Very much so.
Personally, I would like for the setting of the move to be placed totally in the third, most fantastical level. Start there. Move through there. Overcome your odds there. Learn to love and/or hate the characters there, and ultimately triumph or die there. It was the best of the three worlds, the only one worth visiting, and the only one anyone wanted to experience. Snyder uses it as a payoff for first dealing with the situation in which the main character finds herself in reality, and second in her intial attempt at dealing with that reality through the stupor of drugs. Which is fine. Just not necessarily the most satisfying of deliveries. I think of "Streets of Fire", and obscure, wonderul little film of decades past, that had no exact grounding in reality, but was instead a probability. Much of what was portrayed was similar to reality, but none of it was an exact replica. This is a fun way to tell a story and could've been used with "Sucker Punch".
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
5
/
5
True Grit . . . Yeah
PostedDecember 27, 2010
This movie is just about pitch perfect. Every aspect, every nuance, dealt with a deft touch and fine hand, the greatest of effort and ability. The acting by all involved, the directing by the Coens, photography, music, all of it impeccably done. Despite that filming did not truly take place in Indian Territory, or that the grown up Mattie didn't look to have as much Native American blood coursing through her veins as did the young star, it still stands as one of the finest films I've seen in a long while.
Will the improbable happen come Oscar time? Will one role provide two separate actors with The Best Actor award? I think it's highly possible.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
4
/
5
Tron Legacy: Beautifully Rendered
PostedDecember 25, 2010
The new TRON movie delivered quite a bit of fun, excitement, and even some jaw dropping elements, worthy of the wonderful Christmas time rash of cinema selections.
Even though the underlying rationale for the movie was a new Utopia created within a digital universe and accessible by humans, even if not quite yet accessed by them.
Where the main scenes are all played out, it's not quite an environment that lends itself to any utopian dream of mankind of which I'm aware. It's dark, and wide open, and uber clean, uber straight and geometric, devoid of many pleasant attributes of a normal sort unless perhaps you are an adherent of MMA, UFC, or any environment that consists of martial venues of one on one, man vs. man engagements. The ones depicted here are of electricly charged frisbee disks hurled at the opponent until triumph arrives in the form of the vanquished disintegrating into thousands of tiny storage cards . . . or whatever the small cubic shapes are truly meant to be. I simply find the depiction of Tron's world and the explanation for its existence to be incongruous to a high degree.
But was it enough to detract from the movie? Enough to ruin the enjoyment of the unfolding action sequences as they displayed skillfully rendered and wonderfully imaginative scenes of the highest levels of film making art? Enough to leave unanswered questions lingering in the mind instead of a sense of satisfaction from having seen something fresh, honest, and seemingly effortless while obviously difficult, if not nearly impossible, to attain?
Not for me it wasn't. The incredible renderings, the breathtaking use of light accentuating an immense universe of night, was not only thrilling, breathtaking, incredible, and astonishing, but perhaps incredibly satisfying on a level that approaches the requirements of one's imagination. Achieving an end product that so is as mean a feat as exists in the world of fantasy art and the artists who rendered "Tron" were up to the task.
The story is bland, and relies mostly upon emotion, not enough to hold the movie together from beginning to end on its own, but partnered with the wonderful graphics was able to carry the day. The only other let down in the movie, for me, were the hand to hand fight scenes in the bar where tired coreographed routines were used instead of putting any thought into making a scene that could've been unique in some aspect or another. If you've seen "Ong-Bak 2", then anything less in a fight scene is disappointing.
If I were to rate this movie on a scale of 4 stars, it would get 3, which is high praise enough for a job well done in enough places to make it worth the money spent.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
5
/
5
That'll Do, Pilgrim
PostedAugust 14, 2010
This movie succeeds on many levels. The opening credits alone brought goosebumps. The stylistic renditions throughout the movie create a modern day fable that is exciting and satisfying to experience. Even though the movie is set in Toronto, it's an alternate universe of Toronto, one in which the power of the geek is extended to the physical, and a lifetime of training on game controllers endows ability and power to whomever can wield it.
I was glad the music was a throwback to punk, to grunge, to a time when rock was stripped down to its bare parts and raw emotion was able to cut loose with a power lost for decades. The trend of 'screamo' that so many of today's twentysomethings enjoy would not have made this movie as accessible to the likes of this oldtime comic rocking geek.
The classic tale of the underdog overcoming all odds and obstacles to achieve his dream is played out well here, stumbling only near the end where it loses it way just a bit in a jumble of touchy-feelyness where Pilgrim forgets the powerful draw he felt when first dreaming of Ramona, and instead gets concerned over his behavior with Knives. Here was an opportunity to reiterate the reason we've gone down this road, why Scott, and the audience by extension, decided to pursue such a crazy relationship, accepting the consequences of having to conquer the seemingly unconquerable.
The slick and cool quirkiness of all the characters, the super slick dialogue, especially in the treatment for how Generation Y communicates while excluding the ubiquitious mumble, the confrontations between the protagonists and antagonists in renditions that evoke the video games they play, and the likeability of nearly everyone who landed a role in this epic all add to the specialness of this unique, ground-breaking, and ultimately satisfying film that instantly goes to the Top Ten tier of NuclearDog's favorite movies of all time, sitting alongside that rare and precious fable "Streets of Fire".
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
2
/
5
Predators Not Scary
PostedJuly 10, 2010
Another example of a great premise wasted with less than honorable effort on the part of the writers and director.
The players, finding themselves on a distant planet, which presumably in and of itself would've been a remarkable event, being hunted and chased by creatures that are presumably unbeatable, and not having much to rely upon in terms of weaponry, assistance, knowledge of the terrain, etc., are never presented with moments in which those circumstances become palpable to the humans, much less to the audience. The scary creatures never do anything scary, the good guys ( who are bad guys on Earth as we learn ) never are stretched much except for one scene with the 'dogs', and no situation ever gets to a point where there is a seed of doubt in the audience's mind that nothing will quite work out the way we want. Everyone just moves through the motions, waiting for the credits to roll, unless they are this movie's expendables.
The biggest gaffe is the Laurence Fishburne role, the lone survivor who has gone a little nuts out there by himself. Somehow I imagine that anyone stranded out there all alone, having to scavenge for a few morsels at a time, wouldn't be quite so robust as our good friend Larry.
In the first Predator, learning about the creatures provided a good amount of the suspense. But now we know what they are, so revealing them again doesn't work again. Even if you divide them up into little ones and big ones. The rest of the suspense in the Arnold original came from the inability of the humans to match the creatures in killing effectiveness in a straight up fight, but here, in the Adrien Brody version, that's never quite illustrated to a satisfactory level. Yeah, we know that the humans can't beat them straight up, Adrien told us so, but there's never a decent confrontation between the 2 groups. When there are confrontations, the humans find that, wait a minute, yes they can beat the Rasta Reavers after all with the super weapons that were transported with them, along with a seemingly unending supply of ammo. Now we have Predators dying right and left. Ho hum.
The movie is simply a disappointment, one that could've been avoided with better writing. The 65% rating at Rottentomatoes surprises me somewhat. I would've thought more people would've been disappointed. Without proper disappointment, we won't get proper effort when it comes to making these movies that we want to be not just good, but very good. Predator sequels have always been on that list.
No, I do not recommend this movie.
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